Frozen Yoghurt
by HazySunray
Summary: Another 'What if Kakashi had adopted Naruto' story ! Only this time, let's keep it realistic. Rated T for swear words ;
1. Chapter 1

Kakashi was drowning into his newest novel of the "Icha Icha" series. Occasionally chuckling under his mask, he'd flip a page and sit back in his chair. A whole week with no missions. How was he to describe the pleasure of that? But he ran out of luck. The week had flown by extremely fast. He was now enjoying his last day of his laid-back week with his novel and his chair. They'd be his best buddies in the next couple of hours. Or so he thought...

He glanced up immediatly when he sensed that something was coming. Trouble was on the way. And trouble had an enormous amount of chakra. From in the kitchen, he could hear a door closing. It was the door to his backyard, only he thought he'd locked it... Quietly, he stood up and pulled a kunai from his pouch. Making no noise on the tricky parquet at all, he swooped over to the tiny wall seperating his kitchen from his livingroom. He held it up infront of him and cocked his head to the side so he could see the person who'd entered his house without permission.

"A-a kid?" he asked himself, removing the kunai from infront of his face. He perched down before the tiny blond with the big sapphire eyes. "Uhh, kid, would you tell me what you're doing in my house?" he asked with an anime sweatdrop.

"Ssshht! You can't let them find me!" he hushed him, running over to one of the cabinets in his kitchen and crawling in.

Kakashi just stared at the assumed 4-year-old with a confused expression on his face. He walked over to the cabinet, hunched down before it, and opened the tiny doors cautionally. The boy sat there, hugging his knees and awaiting any real threats.

"Uhh.. who isn't supposed to find you again?" Kakashi asked.

"That mean Iruka-sensei! He's gonna' lock me up somewhere in a basement for sure!" the boy replied.

Kakashi couldn't help himself and a loud laughter filled the room. "Iruka's gonna' lock you up in his basement?" he asked, still chuckling.

"Ssshhht!" the boy hushed him oncemore and shut the cabinetdoors again.

"Okay, kid, listen, Iruka's not gonna' lock you up somewhere, alright? So just get outta' my cupboard and chop chop outside."

The boy didn't make a sound though. Kakashi tried opening the doors, but they remained firmly shut. He tried them once again, but the wooden things wouldn't budge.

"Come on kid, come on out. It's okay, nobody's gonna' hurt you."

No answer.

"I'll give you candy if you come out."

No answer.

"Not a fan of candy, huh? Well how 'bout cookies?"

Still no answer.

"Uhhh... lollypops?"

The child wouldn't speak.

"Uhmm.. chocolate?"

...

"Well how 'bout I tell Iruka-san not to lock you away in a basement?"

"... would you do that for me?" came the innocent child's voice.

"Haha, sure."

"You promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

"Pinky-swear it."

"Pinky-swear?" Kakashi repeated, confused.

The squeeky doors opened slightly and a slender arm reached out. The pinkyfinger on the child's hand reached out and motioned toward Kakashi's several times.

"Uhh.." Kakashi went, assuming he had to put up his pinky finger aswell. The child wrapped his pinky around Kakashi's a briefly shook it.

"There." he said. "Now you've pinky-sworn."

"And what's that mean?" Kakashi asked, laughing nervously.

"It means that you have to do it! Once you pinky-swear, there's no turning back!" the boy declared.

"Alright.. so you'll come out, then?"

"Only if you tell Iruka-sensei first!"

"Oh come on, kid, it's not like he'll eat you if you come outta' there, he isn't even here!"

"SSssshht! Don't say that! It only upsets them!" the boy appeared to yell in his whispering voice.

Kakashi chuckled. "They're not ghosts, alright, they're teachers." he said soothingly.

"You don't know that!" came the child's reply.

"Yes I do. Trust me."

"How can I?"

"Well I've just pinky-sworn, haven't I?"

"..." Suddenly the doors of the cabinet opened again squeekily and the boy climbed out slowly. He peeked his head left and right, just to make sure that the coast was clear. Kakashi couldn't help but suppress another chuckle as the boy hid behind the table and turned occasionally toward the door to see if anyone was coming.

CRASH! "Meeow!"

The child yiked and ran toward Kakashi, grabbing hold of his leg and hiding behind it. "It's just a cat, kid, it's okay." he replied with a smile. The cat entered the kitchen via the window and trippled over to Kakashi. The older man went to get a plastic bowl from the cupboard and the little boy followed him, still clutching his hand around the soft fabric of the man's pants. He filled it with milk and set it on the ground where the cat enjoyed it frantically.

The blond boy watched as the cat licked the milk in such a speed you'd think cats needed to exercise their tongues to move that fast, and patted the cat on its head. "He's cute." he noted, scratching the animal behind its ears. "Hmm." came Kakashi's reply. The cat purred and brushed up against Naruto, begging for more attention. The child giggled and patted the stray cat's head happily.

"Naruto!" came an angry yell. "There you are! I knew I saw you run into some stranger's house! You can't do that, you baka!" Iruka scolded the child.

Naruto ran to hide behind Kakashi's leg again and watched as Iruka's gaze lifted from Naruto's to Kakashi's face. Only Kakashi's face was hidden behind a mask. The only thing there was to be seen was his right eye.

"Ah- Kakashi-san!" Iruka choked, shocked.

"Wow, sheesh, Iruka-san, no wonder he thinks you'll lock him up in a basement." Kakashi said, chuckling.

"Wh-what?" Iruka asked.

"The kid's like what, three, four?"

"Three, yes."

"You think it's canny to yell at him like that? I mean, not that I know better, but it sure shit scared me." Kakashi commented with an anime sweatdrop and a nervous laugh.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, Kakashi-san, but this is the way they learn."

Naruto burried his face in Kakashi's leg and Kakashi could feel the child's fingernails press into his skin.

"Come on, Naruto, we've gotta' go."

"Iie! (no!) the boy cried."

Iruka stared at him, surprised. Naruto had never really grown attached to anybody in such a manner that he'd actually burry his head in the man's leg.

"Wow.. Uhh.. Well what if we give you cookies?" Kakashi proposed

"Iie!" he declined though.

"How 'bout a cool ball to play with?"

"Iie!" the stubborn child refused.

"Aw crap I'm all outta' ideas." Kakashi admitted, seeing no other way than to forcibly yank the child off of his leg.

"You don't have to watch over him, Kakashi-san, he's not yours to look over. Besides, he gets enough care and attention at the orphanage." Iruka told him.

"So you work at the orphanage now, huh?" Kakashi asked, attempting to pull the child off of his leg. The stubborn blond wouldn't let go of the man's pants though.

"Only temporarily, just filling in for somebody." Iruka answered, trying to pull Naruto off aswell.

"Huh, that so?" Kakashi faked interest as he tried to peel the child's fingers off of his pants.

"Mm-hmm."

Iruka and Kakashi were having lots of trouble to get Naruto off of Kakashi's leg, but eventually, Kakashi was able to pull him off by using a fearful technique.

... Tickling.

When Kakashi wanted to pass the kid to Iruka though, the kid wouldn't let go of Kakashi's arm.

"Oh crap." he noted.

"We can be here forever." Iruka declared.

Kakashi sighed and sat down. "You know..." Iruka started. Kakashi looked up. "This is the first time I think that Naruto's actually grown so attached to someone in a short period of time." Iruka finished. Kakashi raised a brow. "That so?" he asked, indifferently. "Mm-hmm."

The child traced his fingers over the visible veins in Kakashi's arm. His legs hung from the table and started to gently wabble.

"You know, they're looking for fosterparents for him."

"Well ofcourse they are, I mean, he's in an orphanage."

"No, that's not what I meant..."

Kakashi re-raised his brow.

"They try their best to give children with problems homes to move to first 'cos they believe it has a whole lot to do with the fact that they don't have anyone to watch over them."

"So why don't you?"

Iruka chuckled. "If only." he sighed then. "As you've already heard before, we try to help the children with problems first. These are usually the older kids who steal, use violence or perhaps even do drugs."

Kakashi's eyes lifted slightly, interested.

"Which is why we also almost never have time for the younger ones. The older ones come first at the moment. But the older ones have social contacts outside of the orphanage. Friends, classmates, etc."

"And the younger ones?" Kakashi asked.

"Don't." Iruka replied plainly. "They cannot leave the orphanage yet... this is also why most of the little ones start copying the older ones for attention."

Kakashi sighed. "It must be hard to keep up with it all."

"It is." Iruka replied, chuckling.

"So this punk is one of those troublemakers.." Kakashi said, ruffling through the blond locks with his free hand.

"No. Not really."

"Hmm?"

"Naruto's usually the quiet one. He keeps to himself. Only... that's actually the problem for the quiet ones.. when we have a little free time on our hands to help the little ones, we grant the troublemakers of their agegroup the attention and try to help them. They think the quiet ones don't need any attention or any help 'cos they're so quiet. Only that's the problem. They're quiet **because** they have problems."

"Wow..what an explanation." Kakashi said, smiling.

"Hehe." came Iruka's nervous laugh.

Kakashi looked at the boy who had now started playing with his fingers. Curling Kakashi's fingers and twirling them gently, the boy's legs swung a little more playfully. He seemed to be entertained. If only by the company of the two older men's voices. He didn't have to understand the conversation, only hear and know that they were there.

The child looked up, noticing that someone was watching him. His big, sapphire eyes stared straight back into Kakashi's as if he could see right through him. As though he could read what he was all about.

"Well, I guess it's time to go, then."

The boy's eyes suddenly filled with fear and he clung to Kakashi's arm even tighter than before. He hadn't understood a word of their conversation earlier, but he understood that sentance all too well.

"Oh crap. Did you have to say it that obviously, Iruka?" Kakashi mocked, laughing.

"Gomen." Iruka replied, flushing a red as he realised that it was, indeed, stupid of him to just anounce something like that.

"Come on, kid, you've gotta' go." Kakashi told him, lifting the child up and trying to hand him to Iruka. Naruto hung to the man's neck though, not prepared to let go. Iruka tried to pull him, but every time he did so, he had to make sure not to pull Kakashi along with him.

"Jeesh, kid, you're strong." Kakashi complimented him, but the blond's eyes didn't look amused at all. Sad and scared, actually.

What was it about Kakashi that made that the kid didn't want to let go?

"Well, I see no other option than that you just bring him to the orphanage yourself."

"What?" Kakashi replied.

"Well, clearly it's something about you that attracts the kid to you, so how 'bout you bring him back?"

"Are you kidding me now?"

"Do you want me to rip him off of your neck?"

The child looked at Kakashi as if he had just asked the question instead of Iruka.

"Fine. I'll bring the kid to the orphanage. But you sure as heck aren't a nice rolemodel for them."

"Haha. Not my problem, Kakashi." Iruka replied, already way ahead of him.

"Tsk. You sure are a handfull." Kakashi mumbled, glaring at the little blond child. He just cocked his head to the side though, staring at him confused. And so, Kakashi set the boy on his shoulders and followed Iruka to the orphanage.

Children were running wild all over the orphanage. Yelling, screaming, crying, fighting, laughing, playing, talking, gossiping, etc etc. Everything humanly possible do to to make any type of noise or sound they did. Some were even singing!

Naruto pinched his eyes closed when they entered the extremely loud facility.

"Alright, thanks for bringing him here, Kakashi-san."

"Not a problem (not like I had a choice)."

Iruka did another attempt to pull Naruto away, but the child now held on to Kakashi's head.

"Great." Iruka moaned, rolling his eyes. "Naruto, let go right now!"

"Iie!" the child replied though, closing his eyes tight as he wrapped his arms around the man's head.

"Can't-breathe." Kakashi managed to say.

Iruka managed to move Naruto's arms from Kakashi's mouth and nose to his eyes and neck.

"Suffo—cating.." he complained this time.

Iruka sighed and now managed to bring Naruto's right arm back up again so it was now covering Kakashi's mouth.

"Can't complain." Iruka said for him this time.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, as if to say, "Ha-ha, Iruka, very funny." sarcastically.

"Iruka-kun, did you manage to find the Kyuubi-kid yet?" they could suddenly hear a female voice call.

"I've found Naruto, yes." Iruka replied, clearly also not very fond of the title "Kyuubi-kid".

"Oh, hello Kakashi-san." the famale brunette to whom the voice belonged greeted him, slightly bowing.

Kakashi just smiled back and tried to hand Naruto to the female person, but apparently, Naruto wasn't fond of females either. You'd think he'd grow easier attached to a female though, seeing as children are ususally more attached to their mothers. But not this kid, no, he needed to pick the toughest person.

"QUIET!" the room filled with an angry demand and suddenly all the screaming/... children stopped doing what they were doing and stared at the old man who approached the three adults and blond child.

"Hatake Kakashi, I take it?"

"Err.. Hai!" he replied, formally.

"This child seems very attached to you."

"Ehe-he-he." Kakashi laughed nervously. Who was this weird old man?

"Do you want him?"

"WHAT?"

"Would you like to adopt this child, Hatake Kakashi?"

"Excuse me?"

"Would you like to sign some papers and take this child home with you?"

"Pardon?"

The older man clearly started to get really irritated and the female person took over for Kakashi. "I'm sure Kakashi-san's just in shock, being asked a question like that so plainly."

"Well, it is a very plain question. Would you like to or not?"

"Uhh.. Isn't this a very extreme question to answer on a whim?" Kakashi asked.

"Not if you really want him."

"But what about the responsibilities and-"

"Listen, Hatake-san, we all know that this child cannot stay in the orphanage. He is to be raised the proper rules and structures of life. This is no ordinary child we're talking about."

Naruto, who was still sitting firmly in his place on Kakashi's shoulders, now released his left hand to stretch out to a butterfly that had entered the room via slightly open window.

All the other kids just stared at the older men as their conversation went on.

"And apparently, you know enough about seals and chakra-control to do so. So my question remains the same. Would you like to adopt this child or not?"

"Uhhh.."

"Bato-sama-" Iruka started, but he got cut off.

"Iruka, this matter does not concern you!" he snapped at him.

"With all due respect, sir, but it does. I, for one, think we should inform Kakashi-san that if he'd leave Naruto here, he never would be granted the proper education he deserves." Iruka continued though.

(Aw, crap.) Kakashi thought. (Why did Iruka have to use such a guilt-pressure?)

"And, being the child of the Fourth Hokage, I don't think Kakashi-san would like the child's talent to just go to waste."

(Is he SMIRKING?) Kakashi thought, aggrevated on the inside, but completely calm and uncaring on the outside. (But he IS right though... I really don't want sensei's kid to wind up like a kid who got locked up inside of an orphanage... He was supposed to be the hero of the village. He sealed the Kyuubi away, he saved the village from ruin. If not for sensei's son, the village would've been destroyed.)

"So, would you like to adopt this child, Hatake-san?" the older man asked him oncemore.

Kakashi sighed. (I must be crazy..) he thought, glancing up at the child on his shoulders, who returned his look with his big, innocent, azure eyes.

Later on.. ^_^

"You know.. I have **no** idea why I adopted you." Kakashi told the innocent, sleeping boy on his shoulders. The child's hands were still under the man's chin, just making sure that he was still there, as his head leant on Kakashi's. "What is it about me that invited you in though? What on earth could be so cool about me that interested you? Is it my mask? Is that it? You know, if a mask is what you wanted, I could've just given Iruka one..." he grumbled. (Who am I kidding, though? I didn't adopt him 'cos I wanted to rid others of this burden. I adopted him 'cos I felt like it... No, that's cruel. I adopted him 'cos I **wanted** to. Yeah, that sounds nicer..)

He unlocked the door to his house and carried the child inside. "Well, we're gonna' have to get you a bed, but the couch's fine for now, I guess." he whispered, gently putting him down on the couch and pulling a blanket over him. "At least, until you wake up." he corrected himself.

Carrying him up the stairs would make too much noise. The stairs squeeked, which would probably wake him. And that's the last thing Kakashi wanted right now. "'Night, Naruto." he whispered, ruffling through the boy's blond locks. "We'll see if you're trouble in the morning." he chuckled.


	2. Chapter 2

Last time, Naruto was 3 years old. This time, he's 6 ^-^ So we've actually like zoomed ahead in time ;D Please enjoy the 2nd chapter of Frozen Yoghurt ! ;D AppleCrumble will be out soon :D

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHhh!" came a child's yell, echoing all over Konoha.

"Narutooooo!" came an older man's demand.

"Eeeek!"

"Come back here, Naruto!"

The blondhaired child turned the corner and hid behind a wall, taking deep breaths. Iruka-sensei ran right passed the wall he was hiding against, assuming that Naruto went in the other direcion.

"Teehee!" he chuckled, smirking evily. Skipping school was so much fun, especially when your sensei decides to play "hide-and-seek" with you during schoolhours. "I'm so clever." he bragged, smirking as he slid down the wall with his back and bent through his knees. Leaning his head against the wall behind him, he smiled at the sun and took some more deep inhales.

"You skipping school again, Naruto?"

The child jumped and fell backwards again, against a garbagebag which was set behind the stoor accross from him. The garbagebag tore open and Naruto winded up amidst the trash it contained. "K-Kakashi!" the little boy's voice noted.

The man who was sitting ontop of the house Naruto previously leaned against, flipped the pages of book, appearing completely uninterested in what the child was doing or what he was covered in.

"You know you have to stay in school." he commented.

"Tsk. It's so much funner outside school though!"

"More fun."

"Whatever."

"I don't care if you enjoy yourself more outside of school, it's the law that kids your age have to go."

"Who cares about the law nowadays?"

"I do."

"Pffft. It's just a dumb rule!"

"A dumb rule you've got to follow."

"Yeah right!" Naruto replied though, smirking as he brushed himself off.

"Naruto!" came Iruka-sensei's voice again. He was searching for the missing child who had ran away from the academy only 10 minutes ago.

"Sheesh. I'm only gone for like, what, 2 minutes? And they start nagging already and brag about how they need to know this and that stuff and blablabla.." Naruto complained.

"And with good reason." Kakashi replied though, flipping another page in his book.

"What d'you mean?"

But Kakashi suddenly disappeared in a flash and reappeared beside Naruto. He lifted the boy up by the collar of his T-shirt and continued to read his book.

"What the? Put me down!" the blond child demanded.

"Nahh."

"Oh come on, Kakashi!"

"Nope."

"Would you really throw me back in that prison of education?" the 6-year-old asked, turned toward his guardian and putting up the biggest puppy-dog-eyes he could. The fact that his eyes were naturely pretty watery were a great advantage for the boy.

But not a great enough advantage to fool Kakashi, though.

"Nope."

"Awww crap."

"How old are you again?" Kakashi asked, turning the page with his thumb.

"Six!" Naruto replied, aggrevated about the fact that his guardian didn't know how old he was.

"Hmmm... do they teach six-year-olds that stuff at the academy?"

"No."

"Do kids your age say that stuff?"

"No."

Kakashi turned to face the child with a confused expression on his face.

"You did." the child cleared up for him.

Kakashi flushed a light shade of pink and Naruto chuckled.

"I'm glad you're amused." Kakashi replied though, pointing at the Iruka that was storming up to them. Naruto furrowed his brows confusedly, and turned his head to wherever Kakashi was pointing at. When he saw Iruka running up to them, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He started pulling at the collar of his shirt, trying to get it out of Kakashi's grasp, but the child's slender arms weren't muscular enough to do so.

"Hmm?" Kakashi went, pretending like he didn't notice that Naruto would gladly be ANY place but here at the moment. Yanking his fingers off of the collar of his shirt, the boy swung his legs back and forth. "Kakashiiiii~" he whined, pouting as he kicked his legs back and forth violently.

"Naruto!" Iruka started his lecture when he arrived out of breath.

"Hello, Iruka-san." Kakashi greeted him with a smile.

"Hi."

"I'm sorry about the whole school-issue-thing.." Kakashi apologised with a nervous laugh.

"Not a problem. Thank you for catching him. He'll be watched more carefully in the future. Shouldn't have opened the window." he said, more to himself than to Kakashi.

Naruto just hung there, folding his arms and pouting angrily.

"Alright, I'm glad the matter wasn't too serious. If you'd excuse me." Kakashi dismissed himself, placing the boy on the ground and poofing away.

Naruto blew the hair out of his face angrily, still crossing his arms.

"Come on, Naruto." Iruka sighed, grabbing the boy by his shoulder and leading him back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Later on~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A little blond boy swung open the front door violently and threw his backpack on the floor. He closed the door with a smack and ploffed down on the couch.

"That bad, huh?" Kakashi asked, not even bothering to look up from his book as he turned the page.

"I got a whole week's detention and extra homework!" Naruto complained.

"Wow.. that Iruka sure is hard."

Naruto just sat there, looking up at the ceiling as he twiddled with his fingers.


	3. Chapter 3

In the last chapter, Naruto was 6. Now he's 11. I did this to prevent from people asking questions about why Naruto isn't in Kakashi's team and what a trouble it would be etc, etc.

Naruto is not mine, it is Masashi Kishimoto's. This is just a mere fanfic. Please enjoy the third chapter of Frozen Yoghurt!

(My apologies for my slow writing, but vacation takes alot outta' ya XD)

Naruto was punching a bag of straw, attached with a thick rope to a tree in the garden. His big blue eyes, which were known to be unable of looking angry, tried their best to look as furious as they could.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" he went on, punching the bag left and right.

"Annoying-son-of-a-bitch!" he insulted to "the bag" in breaks as he hit it.

He didn't mean it to the bag at all though. He had a certain someone else in his mind who he'd love to hit. Just once. He just wanted to whipe that smug, selfcertain grin off of the jerk's face.

"B*tch- $$-mother-f*ck!ng- $$hole!" he couldn't hold it in anymore. The bastard had been bugging him and insulting him for as long as he could remember. Not litterly insulting him, just saying things to him that he knew hurt.

"Acting-like-you're-so-much-better-than-me!"

"I'll-show-you-" he turned to spin in the air and kicked the straw bag with all his force.

Drawback... The flaw of the whole case was that it made him go flying through the air, smacking into a tree as he did so. He dropped those 4 meters back down onto the ground-onto his wrist.

"Crap.." he murmered as he inspected his wrist. He wouldn't allow himself to cry in pain. No way, no how. Not a chance in hell that he would ask for help or tell anyone that he was in serious pain and that his wrist needed mending.

"If that Sasuke bastard can live with it, so can I..." he told himself and stood up slowly, covering his wrist with his right hand.

"You know, it's not because someone's strong that their body can heal itself." he heard someone say. And so he glanced up to see Kakashi sitting in the tree above him. He jumped out of it, landing neatly on his feat beside Naruto. Kakashi shoved his book away in his pouch saying, "Let me see that."

But Naruto declined. He was fine, he didn't need any help. He could solve this on his own. He didn't need anyone to solve it for him.

"I'm fine." he grumbled in reply.

"Oh really?" Kakashi asked, raising his eyebrows. His eyes seemed humored.

"Yeah."

"Your wrist doesn't look it." he answered though, and Naruto glanced at his now blue-ish purple wrist.

"It'll heal. It's just a bruise."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I could've sworn I heard a couple cracks.."

"Nothing better than a nice crack in the morning."

"Except after falling onto your wrist from 4 meters in the air, full-forced and full-weightedly."

"It'll heal." Naruto refused though.

"God you're stubborn."

"Proud to be."

"Just let me see it." Kakashi demanded, grabbing his wrist.

"OW!" Naruto winced as he forced his eyes shut.

Kakashi rolled his eyes saying, "See?" but Naruto still wasn't convinced.

"A bug flew in my eye!"

"Yeah right."

"Really!"

"You're such a terrible liar."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"You should really do something about that." Kakashi replied indifferently as he scanned the boy's wrist.

"I don't have to do squat about it 'cos it's the truth."

"If it were the truth, you must have some incredible resistance 'cos from as far as I can see, your wrist is quite ruptured."

"No it isn't."

"Wanna' bet?"

"Sure!" Naruto didn't care if he lost, he wasn't going to show any sign of dependance or even just mere pain. He could stand on his own two.

"Alright, off to the hospital it is, then." Kakashi anounced, pleasure shining in his eyes. Was he sure having fun, knowing that he was going to win the bet easily.

"How much do you wanna' bet on?" Naruto challenged.

"Hmmm... Lessee'... two weeks of doing the dishes."

"Make it three!"

"You're on."

"Great!" Naruto replied with fake joy. In his head he prayed that not a bone in his wrist was ruptured, just banged up a little or whatever. What did he know about wounds and ruptures? He's never really had one like this before. And what was the whole deal with fragments and blood-lodging cells or whatever anyway?

Later on...

"I can't believe I have to do three whole weeks of dishes..." Naruto grumbled angrily, staring at his now-bandaged wrist.

"Told ya' you were a terrible liar."

"Am so not!"

"You are so too."

"Yeah right." Naruto murmered, blowing his hair out of his face for the oh-so-manieth-time.

"By the way... what is it that got you to do such a stupid thing?"

"Do what?"

"Go flying against a tree." Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle. Heck, the sentence WAS funny.

"I was just... angry."

"At who?"

"Some kid."

"Just some kid, huh?"

"Yeah. Just some kid."

"Could it be some Sasuke-kid?"

"How would you know?"

"You said it before."

"Oh..."

"So what about this Sasuke-kid? Does he bug you or something?"

"Not exactly... he just bothers me. He always manages to turn me into the laughing stock of the class"

"I don't really think you set the bar real high."

Naruto just glared at him though, angrily. "It's just the way he acts so cool and all... Compared to him, I..." but he couldn't find the strength to finish the sentance. It hurt him to know that he was weak.

"It's not 'cos someone's better than you that you're weak, Naruto." Kakashi said though, flipping through his book. Was he psychic or something?

Although Kakashi really didn't mind him training a little more once in a while. He liked to see that Naruto put in the effort of training and becoming stronger than the class genius. But somewhere, unconsciously, he knew that Naruto just COULDN'T become stronger than Sasuke just by training in the backyard. If Sasuke, the last remaining Uchiha, could activate the Sharingan, Naruto just couldn't match up to him. . . . . . . Yet.

The blond-haired boy just stared ahead of himself though. He still wasn't convinced. That stupid raven-haired boy was so much better than him, it was just SO unfair! And everyone in the class adored Sasuke! And they hated him! Why were they so different? First off, their styles were completely different. For instance:

Sasuke wore a black T-shirt with white shorts and Naruto a white T-shirt with black shorts.

Sasuke had dark, ochar eyes and Naruto big blue ones.

Sasuke had raven black hair and Naruto blond hair.

And everyone knew that the angel always loses to the strong, dark man. But Naruto couldn't just depend on clothing or hair. What hurted him was that Sasuke could wind anyone around his finger and yet, he didn't. He turned down all the girls that adored him, including the girl Naruto loved the most. And she couldn't see it. She didn't see how much Naruto loved her. She was too busy with that stupid Sasuke prat.

But don't get him started on the teachers. It hurt his ears every time they said, "Brilliant, Sasuke, that was outstanding!" to the jerk and then "That was the worst performance I've ever seen, Naruto, you should train harder." But that wasn't the worst bit yet. The worst part was the thickheaded bastard grin as he did that annoying sound of his. "Hn!" Sasuke went as he grinned. He did that every time something like that happened. Oh how Naruto hated the jerkwad!

And then, an odd, intense feeling washed over Naruto and prickled his senses. His neck prickled awkwardly and his fingertips started to burn along with his kneecalves. He wanted to run. No, he needed to run. Somehow, for some reason, he just needed to run it all off. And so he did...

He ran and ran and ran. He sprinted through Konoha. When he reached the forest, he didn't stop, neither did he slow down. He just kept running as fast as he could. He wanted to.. he needed to... he needed to calm down.

"Goddamnit!" he cried as he felt the scars on his cheeks grow thicker and his teeth turning into jaws as his nails turned into claws.

He roared at the pink afternoon sky. The hate, sorrow, pain, everything... he just screamed it out. It bursted out of his lungs. A red coat of chakra swarmed around him. His fingers curled down as his palms turned to face the slowly fading sun. His stance widened as though he would blow over from the warm, gentle spring-breese. The noise didn't stop. The roar kept dragging on as though he were howling.

But something suddenly embraced him from behind. Arms drooped down on either side of his neck and held his chest tightly. Naruto couldn't move but still attemped to. Kakashi's grasp was too strong though and he didn't budge.

"Calm down." he demanded with bad result.

Naruto only got even more furious and his bloodred eyes were swarmed with rage as he growled oncemore. Trees almost got torn out of the earth they held onto with their roots and animals fleed all over the forest. Naruto's mere chakra chased the nature surrounding him away. The grass beneath their feet suddenly evaporated into thin air and all that remained was rough earth.

But Kakashi's grasp merely tightened around his chest and his arms trembled lightly as his muscles forced themselves to restrain Naruto.

"The fox isn't giving you power, Naruto... it's taking it away from you."

"GGGRAAAH!" came Naruto's useless cry for release.

He could dream on if he thought Kakashi was just going to let him go so he could destroy some more of the nature or perhaps even kill people. But that wasn't the real reason... the real reason was that Kakashi didn't want Naruto to hurt HIMSELF. But he wouldn't allow himself to believe it. He couldn't really believe that he honestly cared for someone. Someone other than the ones he'd let die.

"Calm down.." his intimidating voice tried oncemore.

Did it have an effect? Surely, Naruto did indeed stop growling, but he still tried to squirm himself out of Kakashi's arms. And then, Kakashi had no other choice... He pulled out a piece of paper with a seal on it out of his pouch and pressed it onto the back of Naruto's head. Slowly, the swarming red chakra started to fade and his claws pulled back into nails and his jaws turned to teeth again. At last, his crimson red eyes returned to the sapphire blue ones Kakashi had always known.

The boy drooped down into a pile of flesh and bones but Kakashi caught him just in time before he touched the earth. He picked the boy up and carried him home again. What had lead him to run away like that all of a sudden? He thought the kid was fine before he just sprinted away into the forest.

~*~*~*~ At home ~*~*~*~

Kakashi just stared at the sleeping boy for a while. What made Naruto suffer so much? Why didn't he know Naruto was suffering like this? Oh yeah, that's right... 'cos he didn't care. He opened his book again and started reading. But the words all turned out as nonsense. He couldn't focus on what it said. He wasn't really reading, he was just looking at the words. His brain didn't focus on what the words meant, it just dissolved them once they entered his mind. All he could think about was the crimson red chakra that swarmed around Naruto earlier. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, only this time it seemed like Naruto did it on his own accord. Like he really wanted some sort of monster fox to take control of his body. He didn't want to be weak anymore. If only he knew that he wasn't. He was the son of the two most incredible ninja Kakashi had ever known. Perhaps it was time that he told him...

"K-kakashi?"

Kakashi's head shot up immediatly to look at the confused blonde.

"What happened?" he asked as he rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"You mean you don't remember?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"Remember what?"

"Nothing.. just try and sleep some more."

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing.. just sleep."

"It's morning."

"Don't you sleep in?"

"No."

"Oh."

"Besides, I wanted to train today."

"Want me to train you?"

"Really?" Naruto's sapphire blue eyes filled with glee.

"Sure, why not?" Kakashi replied with a smile.

"Awesome!"

"Haha. Get ready punk, 'cos it's gonna' be tough!"

"Ha! Nothing's too tough for me!"

"We'll see about that."

"Wanna' bet?"

"Nah... it's okay, I believe you."

"Haha, see, told you I was strong!"

Kakashi suddenly poofed away into a white puff of smoke.

"Stop bragging and show it to me." he called from outside in the garden.

And so, Naruto stood up with his self-certain smile and shoved some clothes on in his wicked hurry. Throwing his bedroomdoor open, he ran down the stairs and toward the thick glass doors.

If only he knew they were closed...

In his hurry, he was completely oblivious to the fact that Kakashi had shut the doors behind himself and went flying into them.

"Damn it!" he cursed, covering his now-glowy-red forehead with his hand. He blushed embarressedly as Kakashi opened the slidy glass doors again and sighed as he pulled Naruto's hand off of his forehead.

"Ow!" Naruto went when Kakashi touched his wrist. "Huh? Why's my hand bandaged?" came his late notice.

"You spilled your tea over your hand last night." Kakashi replied calmly as he went over Naruto's forehead. He pulled an icepack out of the freezer and pressed it against Naruto's forehead.

"You sure are a handfull." he sighed.

"Pish posh, I'll show you a handfull when I beat you!" Naruto beamed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Frozen Yoghurt is here! In the previous story, Naruto was 11. In this story, he's 13.

Naruto is not mine, it's Masashi Kishimoto's. This is just a fanfic. If it were mine, I'd made myself an anime character long ago and married Gaara. But oh well ;P

Please enjoy the 4th chapter of Frozen Yoghurt!

Naruto clicked on the flashlight and searched for the box Kakashi was talking about. It was supposed to have some papers in there from previous teams he'd trained and he needed to go over one of them. "A big stack of papers" he described them. 'Nice description' was Naruto's sarcastic thought at the time. When he walked over the wooden attic floor, he couldn't help but fear that it may break. It made cracking, squeeky noises. Almost as if Naruto were torturing it. And so, he decided to remain at his spot and look for the box before moving any more with his flashlight.

It was so hard to find it though, and he started feeling things crawling up his leg.

"It's just your imagination, Naruto." he told himself.

And yet, he could swear that the thing had legs and was pinching his own when it walked up it underneath his pants.

"Calm down, you're imagining things because you're on the attic. Spiders are in the basement, not the attic, now calm down." he murmered.

But when he started to feel it on his back, he couldn't help it anymore and started hitting at his shoulderblades and neck. He pulled his sweater off but he couldn't find anything. He pulled his T-shirt off and didn't find any sign of life on his back either. And yet, he could certainly feel something crawling up his spine.

"Goddamnit!" he cursed, frantically swatting his back with the flashlight. He started twirling around and making a hell a lot of noise on the wooden planks as he scratched at his back and neck and eventually fell down into a carton box. Papers flew out of it when he fell into the box, his arms and legs still popping out. At last, the creature had stopped crawling up his back.

A person walked up the foldable stairs and Naruto tried his best to get out of the box. Oh god. He was stuck. "Goddamnit." he moaned, trying to get himself out of the ancient box. Was it coated with glue or something?

"What's all the noise about?" he heard Kakashi's voice ask when he was at the top of the stairs. /Yes!/ Naruto thought. /My flashlight's turned off!/

But just at that moment, light shined on his body and blinded his eyes. He could hear Kakashi chuckle at the sight of him, and heard his footsteps on the cracky wooden floor aproach him.

"You're stuck." he noted, still chuckling.

"No, I'm not!" Naruto replied, flushing a bright-red.

"You're stuck." he repeated.

"I'm not stuck!"

"You're stuck."

"Yeah, I'm stuck.." Naruto sighed as he glanced to the right.

Instead of helping Naruto out by pulling him up by his arm, Kakashi had a different plan in mind. He lifted him out of the box by his leg. His right hand was wrapped around Naruto's left ankle and his left hand in his side.

"Hey, what the-!" came Naruto's angry notice.

"Why're the papers all over the place?" Kakashi questioned, glancing at the once-neatly-stacked-papers.

"Uhh.." came Naruto's hesitant reply.

"Yes?"

"Something was crawling up my back."

"And so you decide to chase it off with paper?" Kakashi asked, a smirk hidden underneath his mask.

"Well, no, I just tried to chase it away and I sort of... fell in."

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle again as he tried to imagine what happened.

Naruto just huffed and crossed his arms though. "Would you let me go, now?" he grumbled.

"Sure." Kakashi replied and let loose of his ankle. Naruto got dropped to the ground and fell on his head as Kakashi picked the scattered papers up off the floor.

Naruto started to rub his head frantically and started grumbling all kinds of angry words under his breath.

"Instead of doing overdramatic, how 'bout you make yourself usefull and carry these papers downstairs?" Kakashi demanded, placing the huge pile of papers in Naruto's stretched-out and awaiting arms.

"Fine." he sighed and started down the foldable stairs that lead to the attic.

"Just be careful, 'kay. If you move around too much, the stairs will move aswell."

"Why would I move arou- Woahh!"

A tumble, some scratches, another tumble, a crack and a smack and then silence. After one brief second of silence came cussing—lots of cussing. Evil grumbles and insults and a few moans before cussing and grumbling again.

Kakashi leaped to the stairs again, to find a sore Naruto rubbing his head again at the foot of them. He slid down them – he placed his hands on either sides of the stairs and slid down without using his feet – hastily and tried to see what was wrong with the child.

"Goddamn you, rotten stairs. I really hope someone oils you and puts you on fire you b*tch-a$$ jerk-f*cking a$$tard. I hope you rot in hell motherf*cker." Naruto kept grumbling other insults under his breath as he rubbed the same spot over and over again with his eyes pinched to slots.

Kakashi tried to look over his hands to see what was wrong with his head, but all he could see was the red blood in the child's angelic blond hair.

Without a word, he just pulled the kid's hand off of his head and scanned it. When he touched it, Naruto winced, but he couldn't find the source of where the blood may be coming from. He pushed the child's hair aside but still found nothing.

"Argh. Just what I needed. Papercuts. Why does that happen, anyway? F*cking retarded pieces of paper." Naruto grumbled, still fuming. He started to suck his bloody, cut finger but Kakashi pulled the child's hand out of his mouth and scanned it.

"His head isn't bleeding, it's his fingers.." he mumbled under his breath to himself, as though he needed clearification.

"Stay put." he then said as he stood up and went downstairs to the kitchen to get something. Seconds later, he was back upstairs and had a box clenched under his left arm. With his right, he gently placed his hand on Naruto's back and pushed him forwards, toward the bathroom. The whole time, he didn't say a word. He silently turned the handle on the sink and waited 'til the water was cold enough. Occasionally, he'd run the water over his own fingers to see if it could numb his skin yet and waited again. When he decided it was indeed icecold, he gently took Naruto by the wrist and let the icy water run over the cuts on his fingers. The child winced and tried to pull his hand back, but Kakashi was just too strong for him and kept it there.

The sting was horrible. He'd rather not have the water run over his fingers and just let the blood ooze out of the cut instead. He'd way rather have his body heal itself. Or have the kyuubi heal it.

It may have just been a little cut compared to all the cuts and scars he's had in his life, but somehow it hurt the most. And to think he had 3 more of them...

When Kakashi decided that the cut was numbed cold enough by the water, he moved on to the next finger. The process kept repeating itself until all 4 of the cuts on Naruto's fingers were now numbed and ready for further mending. He opened the box he'd carried under his arm earlier, and pulled out some cotton balls along with disinfectant liquid Naruto didn't quite know the name of. All he knew was that he hated it. He hated everything about it. He remembered that whenever he scraped his knee or elbow at school, they'd use that stuff and it'd burn like hell. He hated the smell, the texture, the feel, even the way it stung in his eyes whenever someone would just open it around him.

He was 13, he wasn't a kid anymore, he was a man now. Only an extremely short man and a childish one, but still, it shouldn't hurt like that. He's had bloodgushing, bonecracking, headbursting wounds before! Why should he be afraid of some disinfectant bottle? But still... he didn't want Kakashi to touch him with that stuff. Not now, not ever. He didn't want it, and what he didn't want, didn't happen.

Kakashi motioned for him to come closer when he was finished with setting up all his equipment. Beside the disinfectant bottle stood a disinfectant spray. About the same thing actually, only one's a spray and the other you just gush over your wound. Next to the spray Naruto could see a little pot of salf (healing cream for those who aren't familiar with the frase). And last but not least, band-aids. Slowly, Naruto stood up off the edge of the bathtub he sat on. Kakashi reached out for Naruto's arm, but for some reason, the child pulled back. The older man's eyes spread open wide at the reaction, but just made another step in his direction with his arm still stretched out.

Action-reaction.

Naruto backed off again, his eyes fixed on the bottle containing burning torture-liquid. Kakashi noticed this aswell and sighed as he shut his eyes. "It doesn't hurt." he said, but Naruto didn't seem convinced. Not in the slightest. Now he was even more against the idea of the brown stuff running over his fingers. If it didn't hurt, Kakashi should've said something like, "What's wrong?" but by saying, "It doesn't hurt", he just declared that he knew that the thing Naruto feared at the moment was the burn of the annoying liquid. And he could only know it by experiencing it.

"Come on, it really doesn't."

But stubborn child was still deadset against the bottle.

"Your fingers will swell if I don't."

Nope, nope, still not convinced.

"To the size of peaches." Kakashi continued.

"Yeah right." Naruto mumbled back, still walking backwards slowly.

"Really."

"You expect me to believe that? Peaches, of all things.."

"Oh come on, Naruto, are you telling me now that you're afraid of a little bit of water?"

"That stuff isn't water."

Kakashi noticed that Naruto's reaction was a very weird one for him. Usually, Naruto'd go all out and yell something back like, "No I'm not! I just don't like that stuff!" but now he kept his head cool and just calmly replied against the point.

"It's water with medicine."

"No it isn't."

"I assure you it is."

"Did you make it, then?" it was a rhetorical question ofcourse, since Naruto knew he didn't.

He just kept backing up every time Kakashi made another step toward him.

"No, but I know what's in it." he replied calmly.

"Then you must understand my grudge against it."

"Not at all."

The back of Naruto's leg brushed against the edge of the bathtub and he realised that it was give in or charge. And giving in wasn't really one of his 'things'.

Kakashi noticed though that Naruto had nowhere to go at this point and walked over to him casually. His arms reached out for Naruto's, and Naruto took this opportunity to make his grand escape. He leaped toward the bathroom door and ducked under Kakashi's arms on his way there. Once he was passed him, he ran downstairs in his whicked hurry and left bloodmarks on the railing. He ran into the kitchen and hid underneath the table. God was he lucky that he bought that special tablecloth for Kakashi's fathersday. Nothing else came to his mind at that moment and Kakashi had been complaining about the stains Naruto'd been leaving on his table. And so, he saved up on money and bought him one of the finest tablecloths he could find. There was still an inch of space between the floor and the cloth and so Naruto backed up a little in the hope that Kakashi couldn't see him through the tiny amount of space which provided him the vision to see where the older man was. Kakashi had just reached the foot of the stairs and for some reason already knew that Naruto was in the kitchen. Had he made that much noise? Kakashi's footsteps came closer and closer and Naruto backed up a little more. A hand was placed on the bottom of the tablecloth and Naruto could feel his heart pounding in his throat. New plan: once Kakashi pulls the tablecloth up, run for it! And this was exactly what happened. The hand jerked the thin crèmecolored fabric off the table and Naruto made a run for it. He bumped his elbow and several other parts of his body against the chairs he knocked over in the process, but oh well. He ran around the table and felt Kakashi's hand graze him. Thank god for the tiny distance that mattered vitaly at the moment. Naruto ran around the coffeetable this time, sure that he could make it through the door if Kakashi decided to still come after him. Once Kakashi tried to catch him on either side of the table, Naruto'd run the other way and reach the door just before Kakashi could get him.

"Oh come on, don't be such a dramaqueen." Kakashi told him, his fingers clutched tightly around the brown bottle.

"Tell that to someone who actually gives a damn." Naruto replied, blowing his hair out of his face.

Kakashi sighed and jumped over the table – this most certainly wasn't part of Naruto's plan. Naruto tried to jump over the table aswell so he could reach the other end -the one Kakashi was just on- but he was a little too late and Kakashi pulled him back.

"Ack!" Naruto went as he squirmed out of his hold. The two were now on the couch, Naruto trying his best to keep his hands away from the man. Kakashi's icecold hands fought back and sent chills up Naruto's bare spine. (me: Yesh yesh, I remember that Naruto's bare-chested. Muhahaha XD) Kakashi's hand started tugging at the blonde's shoulder, his knee fighting to keep Naruto's back still. Whilst his left hand held the child's shoulder, his left leg locked his legs, his right knee forced his back still and at last, his right hand had the opportunity to grab Naruto's wrist.

The child groaned in defeat and Kakashi made some sort of proud laughter sound.

Moments later, Naruto was being pulled toward the kitchen sink and placed ontop of the counter. God he hated it when someone picked him up. It made him feel so incapable of doing things. So small. Sure he couldn't reach it by himself yet 'cos his hight was a little off, but still he should've just gotten a chair to stand on or whatever. He didn't want Kakashi to pick him up and make him feel so little.

But the point was forgotten once he realised his hand was being pulled over the sink and the brown liquid was being poured over the wounds on his fingers. Kakashi had his arm locked in an almost-chokehold as though his arm could actually breathe, and Naruto made an "ite" sound with shut eyes and grit teeth but realised moments after that it didn't hurt at all. His tense arm relaxed along with the rest of his body and so did Kakashi's grasp on the boy's arm.

"W-why isn't it hurting?" he asked, confused.

"I told you it didn't." Kakashi replied, a crooked grin crossing his hidding lips. What Naruto could see though, were Kakashi's happy 'I-told-you-so' eyes.

"What the?"

When Kakashi was done, he pulled the salf and the band-aids out of his pocket. He spread the salf over Naruto's cuts and then wrapped the band-aids around them. As he worked on the last one, he raised his eyes to the ceiling and exhaled a gust of wind.

"You sure are a handfull." he sighed, attaching the end of the band-aid to the start.

Naruto smiled his shy grin and rubbed the back of his head casually. "It!" he went, pressing his eyes shut again.

Kakashi sighed oncemore. "Let me take a look at that."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. It's Masashi Kishimoto's. Naruto and characters are all property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is just a fanfic created by yours truly! x3

Please enjoy!

Rain poured down from the blackened depths of the cloudy skies swirling around Konoha. Puddles were spread across the whole village and a thick wind blew away all the leaves in its path. People who dared to go outside would definitely get blown away and be ill the following day.

Which is why a blond teenager with bright blue eyes tried to get home from his long and hard mission as soon as he could. The 14-year-old had whiskermarks on his cheeks and his T-shirt appeared to be torn. The black fabric was completely shredded and he didn't wear a jacket or sweater. He did wear black fingerless leather gloves which covered only his thumbs, but aside from that and the headband worn loosely around his neck, there was nothing else that would usually prevent from growing cold.

His faded grey knee-shorts were ripped and stained aswell. As previously stated, it had been a rough mission. And so, the boy wrestled his way through the demonic downpour toward his destination. He couldn't wait 'till he entered the warm facility. All he wanted to do at the very moment was fall asleep. But he knew he had to wait 'till he got home to do that.

~*~ When he finally got there ~*~

Before the boy even shut the door completely, he was demanded of a reply from a rather stern and impatient male voice.

"Where the heck were you?" Kakashi asked.

"I was on a mission."

"Why'd it take so long?"

"'Cos the guy was a tricky enemy."

"What happened to you?" now there was a slight hint of worry in the silver-haired man's voice.

"I told you; the guy was tricky." Naruto's voice had already grown hoarse as he collapsed onto the couch, trying desperately to stay awake. His eyelids were heavy though and his limbs were sore. Everything had been inflicting more damage upon him ever since Kakashi resealed the seal that locked away the Kyuubi inside of Naruto.

"I'll go run a bath. You stay awake."

"Mmm..." was Naruto's only reply.

Kakashi hurried upstairs and ran the hot water as soon as he could. He then remembered something his dad had told him before though and turned on the cold water aswell.

Naruto could feigntly head Kakashi's hurried footsteps bonking down the stairs and didn't quite grasp what was going on when he suddenly got lifted into the air by his muscular arms.

Kakashi scooped the fading boy up off the couch and ran back up the stairs with the rather limp teen in his arms.

The blond boy was about to fall asleep as he felt short tugs at his clothes. The wet fabric stuck to his body like a sticker but Kakashi managed to peel them off anyway, leaving the boy in only his underwear as he lifted him into the tub.

The boy reacted like a cat the moment his soaring hot skin met the cold water. His eyes popped open and his hands and feet reached for the edges of the tub. It pained Kakashi to have to get the teen back into the water, but he knew it was for Naruto's own good.

"Sshh, calm down, it's only water." he told him soothingly.

"C-c-cold." the blonde managed to say with clattering teeth. His eyelids were weighing down heavily on his eyes and he had bags underneath them as well.

"I know. But it only feels that way to you 'cos you're getting ill. To me, the water's lukewarm. Which is technically still a little too warm."

Naruto couldn't believe him when he said the water was lukewarm and too hot, but most of all he couldn't believe the fact that he was growing ill. He never got sick. Kyuubi always solved that.

"B-but the kyuubi-" he tried, but Kakashi replied before he could finish his sentence.

"Has been sealed away once more. Besides, anyone, even you, would get ill immediately after standing outside in that weather."

"Hmmm..." Naruto closed his eyes and sank away in the tub.

Before Naruto's head was completely underwater, Kakashi lifted the boy up again and straightened him out. Then he closed the hot water so now only cold water would be added.

Since the bath was pretty big (bigger than your everyday bathtub), it was easy for Naruto to slide away from the edge. His feet didn't reach the other end yet so he had no support whatsoever.

The silverhaired jounin stood up to get something. From the looks of it, an empty cup.

Naruto merely watched as the older man filled the cup with cold water. He only really reacted when he noticed it trickling down his hair. The cold water managed to get to his back and chest before the boy swatter the cup away.

"What the heck are you doing?" he demanded of the older man.

"Oh, good. Your reactions are back to normal," the silverhaired man chuckled.

"Why the hell did you do that?"

"'Cos your body needs to cool off."

"Just leave those things to the Kyuubi, okay? He might as well pay the rent in some way," Naruto snarled, standing up. He was glad to notice he was still wearing boxershorts as he stepped out of the tub.

"The Kyuubi won't heal minor injuries the way it used to," Kakashi replied as he held his hand out in front of the boy, stopping him.

"If this illness is as serious as you say it is, I'm sure the Kyuubi will- ACHOO!" Naruto got interrupted by his own sneeze.

Kakashi sighed. "Get in the tub."

"No way! It's too cold in there."

"Get in, Naruto."

"Iie! (No)"

"Now."

"No way!"

"Now or I'll get you in myself."

"Hmph." Naruto crossed his arms, shut his eyes, and faced the other way.

"Fine," Kakashi sighed.

Naruto, who thought he had won, turned around, only to find himself wrestling with Kakashi. The man clamped his arms around him, and tried to get the boy into the water, but the teen's cat-instincts lead him to pull on whatever it was that could get him out. In this case Kakashi.

...

There was a lot of slippery noise in that brief minute, and a load of squirming and groaning.

In the end, Naruto winded up in the bathtub... on top of Kakashi. Thank God it was with his back faced to the man.

Still, neither one was really comfortable with their positions. And so, Naruto tried to get up, only to be pulled back by Kakashi.

"No way I'm letting you out after you soaked my clothes," Kakashi told him, pulling the boy back into the water.

"Hey, it's not my fault your clothes got wet, you were the one who wanted me to get in."

"And who was being a cranky brat and didn't listen to his adoptive father?"

"Well who didn't believe his adopted son about the fact that he didn't need any help and wasn't sick at all?" (They use the word "adopt" a lot when they argue.)

"Oh face it, Naruto, even you can get sick in that weather." Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Fine, but-"

Kakashi sighed and took the advantage of the fact that _his legs_ couldreach the other end of the bathtub...

Before Naruto could even put his comeback into words, he got sh**n**ocked backwards and pulled onto the silverhaired man's lap.

Kakashi was relieved that his back was finally straight and that the kid now really couldn't go anywhere. At least he'd get his money's worth out of his black jounin outfit. He knew that the soaked clothes wouldn't be dry by morning and that he'd have to figure out how the dryer worked instead of just hanging up his clothes as usual.

Naruto wasn't pleased at all though about his situation. And he was even less pleased when he saw Kakashi refill the cup as the man's arm was around his waist, making sure he couldn't get away.

The boy squirmed around as much as he could as the older man gently poured the cup of cold water onto the golden-blond locks. And just to make sure that the cold water reached the kid's neck, he softly pushed Naruto's head forward and down a little before pouring the icecold water onto the boy's neck, to the annoyed groan of the blonde who realized it was no point to squirm anyway since Kakashi's left arm held him firmly at his place.

"Christ, would you stop it?" he complained.

"Hmmm..." was Kakashi's reply as he put his right hand -which was still gloved- on the boy's forehead to check if he'd cooled down a little. Not like he needed to, though. He already knew the water had gotten cold enough and that he extra cups of cold water did their job.

And so he lifted the boy up and got out of the tub.

"Achoo!" the blonde sneezed once more.

"Bed," Kakashi said, more to himself than to Naruto as he pulled out the chord so the bathwater could drain.

Naruto was rather confused when Kakashi not only carried him, but also carried him to the wrong direction.

The boy got placed on the double-bed he'd been pretty familiar with when he was young. It was Kakashi's bed. Only Kakashi was changing it a little. The man pulled off the blankets, to Naruto's everlasting surprise.

"I'm going downstairs," Kakashi said, "you get out of those wet shorts."

As Kakashi went down to the kitchen to get something, Naruto did as he said and changed into his PJ's in his own room.

By the time he was dressed and back on Kakashi's bed, the silverhaired man was back upstairs as well - with a thermometer in his hand.

"Top off," he ordered.

"Huh? Why?"

"'Cos it's too warm. And also 'cos you've got a wound on your shoulder."

"So?"

"So I've got salf and band-aids."

"Oh."

And so, Kakashi unbottoned the boy's shirt and tossed it on the chair in the corner of the room.

"Here," he said as he shoved the thermometer in the boy's mouth. "Hold it under your tongue. No biting."

Naruto blushed lightly. He remembered when he was little he used to know all the tricks there were to know to a thermometer. If you wanted your temp to go up (like on a test-day), you rub your tongue against the tip or try and heat it with a lamp. If you wanted it to go down (like on a fieldtripday), you bite it and hope for the best. There are 3 possibilities.  
- Or it goes way up  
- Or it goes way down  
- Or it breaks and you convince your parents there's nothing wrong and you feel fine.

As Kakashi treated his wound, he quietly tried gnawing on the hard thermometer.

"Hey, no chewing or I'll stick in where the sun don't shine," Kakashi said as he covered the gash with a band-aid.

Naruto **immediately **stopped gnawing on the thing and waited impatiently for the beep.

Meanwhile, Kakashi pulled off his soaked sweater, but sadly he didn't pull off his mask which was attached to his black skintight tank. (Something everyone wanted XD)

When they both heard a loud, shrill beep, the man rushed to the thermometer to see how the adopted kid was doing.

It'd always been trouble for Kakashi to know when Naruto was in pain or ill, because the kid would never admit it. When he was little, he'd often get glares and beatings from other people, but he'd never admit to the fact that it hurt. Mentally and fysically he was _in pain _. Which only made it harder for Kakashi to read Naruto now.

"Thirty-nine °C..." Kakashi muttered.  
"Point eight..." he added.  
"Go change into shorts."

"But Kakashi, I'm already freezing as it is."

"I know. Just do it."

"But..."

"Naruto, do you want _me_to do it?"

"I'll go now!" And the kid scooted off.

When Naruto came back, Kakashi was holding a little bottle and a spoon. A big spoon... (oh noes, fear the spoon! XD)  
Kakashi didn't have to explain to the blonde what to do since Naruto already knew, but he still asked.

"Uhm... what's with the bottle?"

"It's medicine."

"... The good one or the bad one?"

Kakashi sighed as he unescrewed the top. "I'm not gonna' lie to ya', kid."

Naruto backed up on the bed as he saw Kakashi pour the thick (and I mean _really_thick) brown liquid onto the spoon. It was the kind that was hard to swallow since it was so blubbery and sticky, and would leave a bad aftertaste in your mouth that you know will stay no matter what you try.

"Y-you're not serious, are you?" Naruto asked with a hoarse voice.

"Sadly, I am," Kakashi replied, bringing the spoon over to Naruto.

"Can't I take the other one?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"But I'm not even really ill!"

"Open wide," the older man sighed.

"Ii-" but before Naruto could say the 'a', the big spoon got shoved into his mouth and got pulled out empty again.

If it weren't for Kakashi's hand covering Naruto's mouth, he would've spit it out long ago. But as it was, he couldn't get the thick brown stuff out. Not like he allowed it in.

Which is why he refused to swallow it.

"Oh come on, Naruto, don't be a little kid," Kakashi said, his right hand covering the boy's mouth as his left pressed against certain parts of the blonde's throat.

"Mmgmrh!" was Naruto's reply.

"You won't get better if you don't."

Naruto wanted to yell how he wasn't ill, but couldn't with the thick brown stuff in his mouth. Also, even if he didn't have it and didn't refuse to swallow it, the parts the older man was pressing in his neck were known to be the "mechanisms" you swallow with. He couldn't talk like that.

"I'll force it down your throat if you don't swallow it yourself," Kakashi threatened, but he wasn't convincing enough for Naruto.

The boy merely rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Alright, have it your way," Kakashi said as he now covered the blonde's nose aswell. This meant that Naruto had no way to breathe anymore and had to swallow if he wanted Kakashi to let go so he could get some air.

Naruto tried to push away Kakashi's arms with all his might but he was just so tired and weak at the moment.

"No use fighting, Naruto. I'd really suggest swallowing." Kakashi appeared to be proud of his genius plan.

And then Naruto knew he really had to swallow the foul, bitter, thick, blubbery, brown liquid or he'd be in serious trouble.

_Ah, fuck it!_

Kakashi removed his hand so the boy could cough and stick out his tongue in disgust.

The older man sighed as Naruto stalked toward the window and started spitting through it. Thankfully, there was nobody outside now in this weather. Which is also why kakashi yanked the boy back and shut the window immediatly.

"Ugh, blech, yuck, kech, gruck, yech, fheh, blurgh, haroogah!" Naruto made all kinds of disgusted noises as he stuck out his tongue which felt thick from the medicine.

"Oh come on, it wasn't so bad, was it?"

Naruto nodded his head 'yes' angrily.

"Well, whatever the case, you finally took it."

"Hmph."

"Ha-a-hah-ha..." Kakashi laughed nervously.  
"Anyway, you should get some sleep."

"Mmhm.." Naruto agreed, about to go to his room until he got a tap against his forehead and fell back down onto Kakashi's bed.

"Where d'you think you're goin'?"

"Uh.. my room...?"

"Hey, I didn't take the blankets off for myself, you know." Kakashi said, looking at Naruto as though the boy had gotten a brick to the head... several times.

"Then.. where will you sleep?"

"Don't worry about me, you worry about yourself, okay?"

"Hmm.." the blonde still wasn't convinced.

"Just sleep."

Naruto got pushed back onto the bed.

"But, Kakashi, _why_did you take the blankets off?" 'curious george' asked.

"'Cos it's too warm else."

"Too warm?" Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "But it's freezing!"

"To you, yes. Which is why you're ill and we have to get your temp back to normal."

"Can't I have _one _blanket? Or at least my shirt back?"

"Sorry, kid."

"You can't be serious..." the teen muttered, hugging himself as he turned onto his side and curled up into a ball.

Kakashi switched off the light as he went to the bathroom to get something.

Even with Naruto being tired as hell, the cold kept him awake no matter how hard he tried to fall asleep.

His guardian walked back inside with a wet washcloth and placed it on Naruto's forehead. As he expected it to be, it was icecold. And since Kakashi had to make sure the washcloth didn't slide off of the boy's forehead, he stayed on the bed, sitting next to the teen.

Naruto saw no other way than to huddle to his own source of warmth. He was happy to notice that Kakashi had changed into a dry pair of pants as well.

Surely, it was warmer where Kakashi was, but Naruto was still frozen solid no matter how much he hugged Kakashi's arm.

Kakashi wasn't surprised that the boy huddled over to him. He knew how hard it was for the kid and how cold he felt. And being the parent he was, he couldn't stand to see Naruto like that.

Which is why he pulled the boy closer and tried to hug him without warming his body too much.

In the end though, Naruto wound up settling himself on Kakashi's chest with his feet reaching over the edge of the bed. He was laying in the wrong direction, but it didn't matter.

Kakashi twirled the blond locks of the child sleeping on his chest around his finger, trying to entertain himself. He'd stay awake all night so he could make sure Naruto was okay.

He feared the day he'd tried to forget about finally arrived. The day all the illnesses the Kyuubi had managed to stop finally broke out.

"Your scent," Naruto suddenly muttered.

Kakashi's eyes were suddenly shocked as he tried to figure out what Naruto meant; The most obvious thing shot to his head though. But before he could reply, Naruto muttered something else.

"The day.. you asked me.. what made you so.. different from the.. others.. and that attracted .. me.. to you... so much."

"..." Kakashi was silent as he remembered the day he'd adopted the blond boy.

"Your scent... it reminded me of... someone."

Kakashi knew Naruto was talking about his father without noticing or knowing it himself.

The boy finally fell asleep and Kakashi let a smile grace his lips behind his mask. He stroked the boy's cheek.

"You sure are a handful," he whispered with a smile.


	6. Chapter 6 part 1

This is: Chapter 5 of Frozen Yoghurt

In the previous chapter, Naruto was 13. In this chapter, he is 16.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, it is Masashi Kishimoto's.

Please enjoy the 5th chapter of FY

Naruto, Sakura and Sai waited on the bridge as been ordered. Ofcourse, all three knew by now that Kakashi-sensei'd be late anyway. But all three still had a tiny sparkle of hope that perhaps ionce/i the man would be on time.

"Ugh, where uis/u that guy?" Sakura complained.

"Who knows.." Sai sighed.

"Mmhm." Naruto agreed eventhough he knew exactly where Kakashi was.

"If he doesn't magically appear right now I'm gonna-" Sakura wanted to say but got cut off.

"Hello, guys."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura and Naruto exclaimed.

"Sorry I'm late, an old lady needed my help... with several things... really!... it's true!"

But none of them appeared to be convinced.

"Anyway..." Kakashi skillfully changed the subject. "We're gonna' be going on a C-rank mission, so I hope you're all ready."

"What?" Naruto nearly yelled. "But we can defintely handle B-rank, sensei!"

"Well, I would've enjoyed a B aswell, but there aren't enough Chuunin on the team."

"What do you mean, sensei?" Sakura asked, "there's you who's a Jounin, Sai's ANBU material, I'm a Chuunin and – OH."

Naruto's eyes went white as guilt washed over him.

"But Kakashi-sensei, you _know_ I'm Chuunin rank material! Besides, I would've passed if it weren't for Orochimaru's plan to take over Konoha!"

"Hey, it isn't ume/u who said it. If you've got a problem, go fight it out with the Hokage."

"Alright, I will!"

Naruto was about to march up to the Hokage and fight it out with her, until Kakashi held him back by the collar of his sweatshirt. Holding his book in his free hand, the jounin sighed.

"I wasn't serious, Naruto."

"Why not?"

"'Cos she's the Hokage."

"Yeah, and besides, you must be more of an idiot that I already thought you were if you wanna' argue with Tsunade-sama." Sakura added.

"It's no fair! I was away, training with Ero-sennin! Doesn't that count for something?" Naruto asked desperately.

"Don't be an idiot, Naruto." Sakura laughed.

Naruto balled his hands into fists. Sometimes that Sakura could really drive him to the edge. Just the way she thought she was better than him... Sure, he laughed it off every time, but whenever Sakura called him an idiot, fool, moron, or a weakling, it really bhurt/b. The only reason he pretended to like her in the first place was so that he'd have the girl who liked Sasuke first, but then liked him better 'cos he _was_ better. He'd just wanted Sasuke to acknowledge him, not Sakura. Which is also why he told her to butt out that day he faught Sasuke on the roof of the hospital. Sasuke finally acknowledged him, there was no reason to pretend like he loved Sakura anymore.

Kakashi noticed how Naruto balled his hands into fists and put a hand on the boy's head.

"Anyway, we should get going." the man anounced and the team followed.

~*~*~ On their way there ~*~*~

"So anyway, sensei... what's the mission?"

"Good question, Sakura. We shall be guarding a campsite and acting as temporary instructors there."

"What's the camp for?"

"Well, to put it bluntly, it's a camp to teach beginners simple shinobi basics to stay protected from other enemy shinobi."

"How long shall we be staying there?"

"What's wrong, Sai? Got other business to attend to?"

"No sir."

"Hehe, just kidding, Sai. You should loosen up a little."

"My apologies, sir."

"Hmm... Anyway, it depends how long we stay. It could stray from 3 days to 5. We won't be staying for longer than a week, though."

"Don't they have their own guards?" Naruto muttered tonelessly.

"Ah, I wondered how long you were gonna' remain quiet, Naruto." Kakashi teased his student.

"And no, not qualified shinobi ones at least."

"Well that sucks." the blond boy determined.

"True." Sakura agreed. "What's the reward, sensei?" she asked, trying to find a reason to fulfill the mission in a happy mood.

"Enough." Kakashi sighed. He didn't like the way his students were motivated by money.

"Enough as in; "I can pay the bills", or as in; "I can buy myself a new kimono"?"

"Errr..." their sensei chewed his lip.

"What does it matter?" Naruto mumbled angrily.

All three teammates stared at Naruto. They all wore a confused and shocked expression on their faces. None of them were used to such bitter behavior from the blonde.

But Naruto didn't appear to notice the tree pairs of eyes on him as he walked ahead of their frozen bodies with his arms crossed lazily behind his head.

Soon after they followed the angsty child. All three were silently wondering what had upset Naruto so much. Especially Sakura, who was lost in guilt.

~*~*~ 1 day of traveling later ~*~*~

"Is that even a campsite?" Sakura asked.

"It is indeed kind of modern and facility-ish." Sai agreed.

"More of an actual camp you go to in the vacation than a campsite in a forest. I don't even see any tents or campfires." Sakura added.

"Well, at least we get to sleep inside." she realised happily.

"You must be the Konoha ninja that came to help us out." a middle-aged man with little facial hair greeted the team in a shaky voice. He walked over the them casually.

"Hai." Kakashi-sensei replied, bowing slightly.

Sakura and Sai bowed aswell, but Naruto just scanned around the campsite. There weren't many people to see besides two kids fighting eachother with wooden swords.

"I'm captain Shiziko." the man introduced himself. "But you can call me Ziko."

"I'm the leader, Hatake Kakashi. This is Sai. Sakura. And Naruto."

"Pleasure." Sai tried to smile.

"Hiya." Sakura went along.

"..." Naruto was still staring around, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that he'd just been introduced and that all eyes were on him ... again.

"Huh?" he went eventually, understanding that everyone was waiting for him to say something.

"Don't mind him." Kakashi covered for him, smiling polite n's.

"Yeah, Naruto's just a little slow in the head." Sakura unintentionally added.

Naruto laughed dryly and without any sign of happiness. "I'm sorry, what was the question?"

"Nevermind." Kakashi sighed. "So, Shiziko-san, where do you want us to start?"

"Well, class starts in about half an hour so I suggest you guys go to your rooms and unpack. Unfortunately, there's a slight problem with the plumbing and the electricity in one of the rooms so two of you will have to sleep in one room together."

"I'm the girl." Sakura stated, having claimed a seperate room.

"Hey, I'm not sleeping in one room with Sai! Who knows he'll try and see if I have a dick or not when I'm asleep!" Naruto seemed to be awake for the first time this morning.

"So you admit you're afraid I'll find out you don't have one?" Sai asked innocently.

"See?" Naruto nearly yelled, poiting at Sai hyperactively.

"Relax, Naruto." Kakashi pu a hand on his head. "You can bunk in my room."

Naruto exhaled a gust of wind. He didn't mind staying in Kakashi's room since he'd stayed in the man's room when he was little and had a nightmare or something.

"Alright, that's settled." Sai appeared to be pleased that he got a seperate room.

"Follow me, please." Shiziko requested and lead them to their rooms.

~*~*~ In Naruto & Kakashi's room ~*~*~

An extra bed was already foreseen when Naruto nupacked his stuff in the room he'd be staying in for the next few days.

When Shiziko left the room after explaining several things to Kakashi, he shut the door for him and turned to Naruto who was calmly unpacking his things.

He swiftly moved toward the teen, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him along and yanked at his collar agressively so the boy smacked into the wall with his back.

"What was that?" Kakashi demanded of the blond teen inches away from him.

"What're you talking about?" Naruto asked innocently.

"That agressive, impolite behavior." Kakashi growled.

"Woah. I think it's _you_ who's being agressive, sensei."

"Oh quit it, will you." the older man rolled his eyes.

"Just tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." Naruto lied with a fake smile.

"Quit lying. You suck at it, always have."

"I'm not lyi-" Naruto tried to say, but Kakashi jammed his arm against Naruto's neck and forced the boy against the wall again.

"I told you not to lie to me." the man growled.

"Kch!" Naruto went as an automatic reaction to being trapped and in a tough situation.

"Now tell me what's wrong."

"Mind... your own.. fucking... business." Naruto said inbetween breaks since he had trouble speaking and breathing at the same time with his sensei's arm jammed against his neck.

Kakashi's right eye spread open in shock for just a fraction of a second before pinching to a slot. He shot Naruto an angry look through the slotted eye. He grabbed the boy by his shirt again, pulling him back slightly, then shoved him against the cold wall oncemore.

"You _are_ my business." he snarled.

"No... I'm your... student."

"Exactly."

"My... business... is mine... only."

"Would you just listen to me for once?" Kakashi grew aggrevated.

"Oh I hear you." Naruto could breathe normally again.

"Then obey like a student should." Kakashi hissed.

"Hn." Naruto grinned.

Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes nor his ears. This boy ... was he even Naruto? In that mere half of a second, he resembled the ravenhaired boy that had betrayed Naruto several years ago

... Sasuke ...

Naruto pushed his sensei's arm away and left the room, leaving the silverhaired jounin behind, staring at the wall where his adopted son had been shoved against seconds earlier.

Perhaps there was a kinder way to get the information out of him...

~*~*~ Later on ~*~*~

"Alright, listen up!" one of the camp instructors anounced to the group of teenage students. "These people here will be helping you and teaching you basic ninja defence techniques! You'll adress them as sir or m'am and you'll be polite to them! You shall treat them with the respect they deserve for coming all this way just to help you! Now, divide into two groups of 10!"

The teens did as the instructor had told them to and Kakashi motioned for his students to come over.

"Alright you guys, we'll be taking turns aswell. There's two groups so that means that we'll be teaching and guarding in groups of two. Every day we'll be switching teams. Understand?"

"Hai, sensei." Sakura and Sai said at the same time, but Naruto just completely ignored them.

"Alright, make up your mind on who you wanna' team up with for the rest of the day."

Sai and Sakura were both obviously not too keen on teaming up with Naruto. Both of them had noticed how something was bothering the blonde and neither of them felt like fixing it or finding out what it was. Somehow, they sort of expected Kakashi-sensei to take care of it since he was his adoptive father. But most importantly, he was the oldest and wisest member of the team. The sensei. He was the guy that had to keep the team together.

"Uhmm..." Sakura slightly hesitated. She'd usually be the first to team up with Naruto since Sai had joined the team, but now she really didn't know. And the way he'd been so agressive toward her... perhaps it was better for her to stray from him for a while.

"I'll go with flat-chest." Sai said with a 'smile'. You could tell he'd been practicing, but the smile istill /ididn't seem too real.

"HEY!" Sakura bellowed, eventhough she was relieved.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. His muscles were tight. He really wasn't in the mood to be tossed into a team with Kakashi after what just happened, but he'd have to team up with him sooner or later, so he'd rather it be now.

"Alright. Naruto, you follow me."

Naruto didn't bother saying anything as a sign that he understood, and just followed his sensei to one of the teams.

"Hello everyone." Kakashi greeted.

"Hello sensei." their team replied together in a chorus of cracked teenage voices.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi and this is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Nice to meet you Hatake Kakashi-san and Uzumaki Naruto-kun." the group said at (strangely) the same time. They'd have to practice that line over and over again before being able to say it at exactly the same moment. Oh well. So they were taught with strict rules. No biggie.

"So we'll just be teaching you one of the basic ninja know-hows. This one's called the transformation technique. It's used for several things as in disguise. It can be used to transform into a person so you can get information out of your enemy or throw them off, or you can transform into a thing so you can hide. Now you guys don't need to learn how to transform into a person, so we'll just try to teach you how to transform into a log. Do you all know how to gather chakra?"

"Errr..." the whole group seemed to be hesitantly shifting in place.

"I'll take that as a no." Kakashi chuckled.

Naruto moaned and sat down lazily.

"What's the problem, Naruto?" his sensei asked.

"Ugh. It's such a bother having to teach these newbies how to gather chakra." Naruto said, bothered by the midday sunlight blinding his eyes.

"This coming from the kid who thought it was pronounced chatara." Kakashi replied, bending over him so the blonde was no longer disturbed by the sun.

"Yeah, well, I was young then. These guys are as old as I am."

"Exactly, so you'll understand them better. Why don't iyou/i explain to them how to gather chakra?"

Naruto sighed. "How bothersome..."

He stood up slowly and folded his arms behind his head as he stared at the bright blue sky above him.

"Alright you lot... Focus on the pit of your stomach. Try to imagine a surging flow of power trying to reach every inch of your body, including even your fingertips. Keep focusing on the pit of your stomach. If it feels cold and yet hot with adrenaline and power, you're about right."

"It's working, sensei!" they all cried out.

Kakashi stared at the blonde boy. "Wow, Naruto.. never thought you were so good at such things."

"Hmph." Naruto slumped back down in the soft grass. He shut his eyes and bathed in the warm noon sun, trying to fall into a sleeping slumber for a few minutes.

Kakashi sat down beside him with a sigh. He watched the new students practice on gathering together their chakra. He'd occasionally give them a tip or correct them, but besides that, he just sat in the thick green blades of grass observing Naruto's chest slowly go up and down. The boy's angelic, yet demonic at the same time, features were so calm, smoothe and at peace.

"Sensei, I think we've all got it now. Can we start the next drill?" one of the teen's asked Kakashi.

Naruto opened one eye and glanced at the brunet towering over him. "No." he heaved a sigh.

"Why not Uzumaki-san?"

"'Cos you're not ready yet."

"Howso? I can do it. See?"

"Yeah, now you can."

"What do you mean, Uzumaki-taichou?"

Naruto inwardly scowled. He hated how they refrained from calling him 'sensei'. They probably also knew how he was still a Genin. How or why, he had no idea. But something in him told him that they knew that he was labeled as 'worth less'.

*Oh don't overexaggerate, Naruto. You're being paranoid.*he thought as he stood up.

A soft breeze washed over him and awoke his insides. It purified his thoughts and cleansed his chakra. He reached into his pouch with shut eyes and pulled out several kunai. He walked over to the brunet boy and reached for his arm. He pulled out the boy's hand and put his kunai on the brunet's wrist.

Kakashi, who noticed what Naruto was doing, tried to stop him, but was too late.

Red sticky liquid came oozing out of the cut Naruto made in the teen's wrist. The teen shut his eyes in response and tried to pull his arm away, but Naruto's hold was too strong. Eventually he let go, though, and hunched down. There, he lifted the brunet's pants up and cut the teen's leg.

"Aargh!" the new student cried.

"Naruto, what the heck are you doing?" Kakashi demanded of the boy, shocked as hell.

Naruto was silent though as he proceeded. He disappeared and reappeared in a flash behind the brunet and poked the boy in the neck with his kunai softly.

"Now gather your chakra." the blonde murmured.

"H-h-h-h-hai sir." the brunet's teeth clattered hyperactively as he tried to put his hands together to perform the seal, but for some reason, his arms were shaking uncontrollably.

Naruto poked the kunai a little deeper into the boy's neck, just until that point where you know that if you push any harder, you'll penetrate the skin and make him bleed.

Kakashi was silent as he watched his adopted son act so much more grown up than he'd ever seen him act before.

"P-p-please don't!" the teen begged, and Naruto raised his eyes to the sky with a sigh.

"Told you you weren't ready." he muttered ever-so-softly, then walked away.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called for him, but he ignored the useless call.

~*~*~ 20 minutes later ~*~*~

If the blonde had to admit it, he'd say the campsite was extremely beautiful. Right now he was in a thick forest, relaxing in a tree. He inwardly sighed as he thought back of the brunet teen. He immediatly felt guilty for doing such a thing to the poor boy, but it was the student's own fault. If he weren't so high on mighty of himself, Naruto mightn't have done that to him. To be able to gather chakra means that you have to be able to do it at uall/u times.

"Wasn't that the whole point of the exercise?" he asked himself with shut eyes.

"Well, not exactly." someone answered.

Naruto's eyes immediatly shot wide open, and he sprang to his feet. He scanned the area for another source of life. Ofcourse, it was Kakashi-sensei perched on a nearby tree.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto grumbled.

"Woah, calm down. I just came to see where you were. It's time for dinner."

"It's fine, go ahead. I'll guard."

"Sai and Sakura are guarding." Kakashi replied smoothly, disappearing and reappearing infront of him.

"Then I'll keep them company."

"And nice company you'd be, too." Kakashi remarked sarcastically, chuckling.

"Hn!" was the boy's only reply as he grinned and turned his head away with shut eyes.

Kakashi slowly walked over to the blonde who still had his head turned away from him and placed the backs of his fingers on Naruto's cheek. The Genin's eyes shot open as a reaction, and he turned his head to face his sensei with an aggrevated look.

"Why do you always close your eyes?" Kakashi almost whispered.

"..." Naruto just stared at his sensei with his mouth agape.

"You're not _him_, Naruto.."

"I know!" his student spat out angrily.

"Then why...?"

Naruto smacked his sensei's arm away agressively. "None of your f*cking business." he murmured before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

Kakashi stared at the smoke that slowly started to evaporate, wondering when he ever taught Naruto how to teleport.

~*~*~ 10 minutes later ~*~*~

Naruto sat alone at a table, staring at the water in his glass as ripples formed on the surface every time someone would pass by him. All around him people were talking, laughing, screaming, or whatever, but he was just silently staring at the see-through substance.

That is, until a plate of greens suddenly slid over to him on the plastic table. Naruto's head cocked up, and he recognised the silverhaired masked man that took a seat across from him at the table. The blonde just dropped his head back down on his soft arms though as a sign that he rejected the vegetables on the clean white plate.

His eyes were fixed on the clear liquid in his glass again as the older man shoved the plate a little closer to the boy. Naruto ignored the gesture oncemore, and his sensei started to grow impatient.

"It's not one of the smartest ideas you've had." the masked shinobi told him.

"Ramen." Naruto sighed.

"I'm afraid they don't have that here." Kakashi inwardly laughed.

"Pff.." Naruto blew his hair out of his face and turned his head to the right.

"Ramen's bad for you anyway.."

"Ramen's a gift from heaven." Naruto muttered in response.

Kakashi chuckled. "Oh yeah? And which heaven may that be, then?"

"The standard one... you know, the one that states that greens are bad for you."

"Oh sure." Kakashi rolled his visible eye with his smile hidden behind his mask.

"Either you believe it or you don't, but I'm not eating that."

"You're gonna' starve." the jounin stated boredly.

"So be it, then." Naruto sighed as he flung his arm over the back of the chair and leaned back in it.

"You're so idiotically stubborn." Kakashi muttered disappointedly.

"So be it, then." Naruto repeated with utter boredom and shut eyes.

"You're gonna' seriously die if you live on ramen alone."

"So be it, then."

"And I'm gonna' personally make you suffer if you say that one more time."

"So be it, then."

Kakashi balled his fists underneath the table, but he couldn't bring himself to harm his student any more than he had this morning. He already hurt the boy enough for the day. And so, he decided to keep his head cool and whipe off imaginary dust on the table swiftly with his sleeve.

Naruto slightly sighed and sunk back into his chair.

"Would you just do me a favor and eat already?"

"No need."

"So you _can_ say something besides 'so be it, then'." his wise sensei laughed.

"Apparently." Naruto shoved his chair away with a sharp noise and stood up. "I'm gonna' go guard." he said, and with that, he left.

The cool night air chilled Naruto's body and he could've sworn the hair on his arms raised. Since he wasn't wearing his sweatshirt like usual, the blonde teen was dependant on the black T-shirt with the orange swirls. He could suddenly sense someone coming up from behind him, and braced himself. He went into his pouch slowly, pulling out several kunai inbetween his he was ready to turn around and attack, he could suddenly feel something warm on his shoulders. It was khaki and soft. A jounin vest. Naruto didn't need to think twice before knowing who's it was. And so, he shrugged it off and let it drop to the ground. He walked further away, not sparing Kakashi a single glance. He knew the man was following, though, but ignored him nonetheless and continued walking.

His sensei was silent all the while, even when Naruto sat down on a fallen down tree. Kakashi sat down beside him, resting his arms on his legs. Naruto turned the other way on the log, so they were sitting beside eachother, but in different directions.

Naruto could suddenly feel the older man curl his fingers around one of his blonde locks.

The boy wriggled his nose agitatedly, trying his hardest to seem impassive, but it still irritated him to no end.  
And so, the almost 16-year-old whacked his sensei's hand away, still not looking at him.

Kakashi merely chuckled, though. It was a deep, dark, chuckle, but it was still a sign of laughter and happiness. Naruto guessed the man was happy that he was showing SOME kind of form of emotion, but being his stubborn self, he refused to show any more than that.

And so, his usually bright blue eyes now turned grim and grey with utter uninterest.

Neither said a word, sitting there for hours on end. The night had fallen and the sky was pitchblack. You could hear owl-hoots and other nature and wildlife cries, but no human sound. The silence was clearly bothersome to Kakashi, though. And, if Naruto had to admit it, it was extremely annoying to him, too. But he didn't allow himself to show any sign of weakness or vulnerability. He was Uzumaki Naruto. And Uzumaki Naruto was strong. Uzumaki Naruto was a grown man. Uzumaki Naruto was ... not himself. No matter how hard he tried, he could not be the man he wanted to be. Nor could he return to his previous identity.

Uzumaki Naruto now had only one option left to turn to. The Kyuubi. But could he be known as the Nine-tails jinchuuriki brat? No. He's always refused to be that. But since he couldn't be... ihim/i... perhaps it was better if he turned to SOME sort of identity. 'Cos Uzumaki Naruto just wasn't the person he could be anymore.

"You know, you're still pretty damn short for a 15-year-old." Kakashi suddenly disturbed the silence and Naruto's negative thoughts.

"I'm not short and I'm almost 16." Naruto sighed boredly.

Kakashi was still rather shocked that Naruto reacted so... uncaringly. Even after all this time, he was still used to Naruto being a live, happy, hyperactive, ball of yellow, flashy, excitement.

"I wanna' bet it's 'cos you only eat ramen." Kakashi awakened the nostalgic feeling of arguments. He was probably aiming to remind Naruto of their previous discussion, just to get some more frustration out of the teen.

"Uh-huh.." Naruto sighed oncemore, leaning his chin on his hands.

"You really should eat more vegetables if you still wanna' grow."

"That's right." Naruto 'sang', still completely ignorant to the man's words.

He could suddenly feel a hand on his head, ruffling through his hair. "And a little bit of interest wouldn't be bad, either." Kakashi added.

"Enlightening." Naruto remarked sarcastically.

"You know, I've been wondering..." the jounin continued, leaning back a little so he could now see Naruto's face. The boy still faced the ground, though, appearing completely oblivious to the man's presence.

"Why do you want to be so much..." Kakashi went on, swinging his legs around the tree so he was now sitting beside Naruto. "... Like Sasuke?"

...

And the question had been asked.

The question Naruto thought nobody would ask him. He thought nobody would be able to figure it out. He thought he'd put up such a great mask... Oh well. He clearly hadn't.

"I don't."

"You sure do." Kakashi disagreed.

"I'm nothing like him."

"Exactly; you're you. And he's himself. So don't pretend to be like him, it doesn't suit you."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Would you listen to yourself? What happened to you?"

"... Nothing."

"Sakura's worried about you, Naruto. Even Sai's worried, and that guy doesn't have any emotions."

"So?"

"... I'm worried about you."

"..."

"Would you look at me?" Kakashi asked, turning the teen's chin and raising his head to his level.

Naruto's grim eyes didn't look at Kakashi's, though. Naruto was a stubborn boy; what he didn't want, didn't happen.

"Why do you turn away from everyone?" the silverhaired man asked the blonde, his eyes suddenly blasting insurance and disappointment.

Naruto pushed Kakashi's arm away, though, turning his head back and standing up. He didn't feel like having this conversation with him. He didn't feel like having this conversation with _anybody_. Only... Sasuke.

And that's when he dropped to his knees and threw up. No, it wasn't throw-up, it was blood. A mixture of both. But blood was extremely evident.

Why did his body resent him so much? What was going on with him?

Before the blonde could react or disapprove, his sensei grabbed his arm and swung it over his shoulder, then wrapped his right arm around him and helped him get out of the forest.

"I won't say 'I told you so'." the man joked, just trying to get himself in a normal mood. He didn't want to worry himself. Firstly, Naruto wouldn't want it and would distance himself from the man as far as possible. And secondly, he knew that there was nothing to really worry about, things like these happened all the time in a ninja's world. You get hurt. Only, usually, your body doesn't hurt itself...

"Then don't." Naruto replied agitatedly in a hoarse voice, trying as much as he could to get away from the man. He didn't want nor need any help.

But Kakashi was just too strong for him, especially now. Now when Naruto's body was rejecting itself. How or why, neither of them knew. But it certainly wasn't normal.

And yet, the lythe boy didn't want to accept the fact that Kakashi was stronger, so he didn't give up. He detested the way the man could so easily stop him or keep him in control. He wanted to be able to win from him occasionally, to free himself from this cage of dependance. But he knew that this was also exactly what the older man didn't want. The last thing the silverhaired jounin wanted of Naruto was that the teen became independant. He liked being wanted and needed. If that's the only thing he really wanted of Naruto, it's that he'd be wanted and needed. But mostly needed. He wanted someone to need him to live on. He wanted an important person to actually ineed/i him. To need him so badly that if something might ever happen to him, that person couldn't live on. Perhaps it's because all his previous bonds had been broken so rapidly and easily. He didn't have it in control. And now he just wanted to build his bonds up so strongly that they icouldn't/i break, no matter how hard the other person tries. He won't let go. The last thing he wanted was to let go of his precious people. He's let go of enough already...

But Naruto hadn't the slightest idea that Kakashi had such a background, he just thought that the older man liked being stronger and liked the idea of still being better than his students. That he didn't want his students to surpass him, 'cos they were his istudents/i, and he was their iteacher/i. In Naruto's eyes, though, Sasuke had always been nearly as strong as Kakashi-sensei. And now, he's most likely even stronger. So why wasn't he? Why was it so hard for him to catch up to them both? What was wrong with him? What did Sasuke and Kakashi have that he didn't? Why wasn't he a natural talent? Why was everyone so goddamn _strong_?

He hated being so weak. He hated being so nameless. He hated being so hated. He hated being the bearer of the Kyuubi. He hated being neglected by Sasuke. He hated being weaker than Kakashi. He hated being unimportant to Sakura. He hated being a nuisance to Sai. He hated it all. He hated them all. He hated everything.

No, he wasn't such a hater of life. Not in the slightest. At least, he didn't used to be. He used to be happy and cheerful. He used to believe in his own worth. What happened to him?

~*~ Back in their room ~*~

Kakashi opened the door to their room and walked the boy to his bed. There, he set him down and went to get a bucket just in case something may happen again. When he came back though, Naruto was up again and tried to walk over to the window. Probably for some fresh air. The jounin pushed him back down on his bed and opened the window for him.

"I can do it." the blonde stated, annoyed to bits.

"I know, it's just easier this way." his sensei replied calmly, leisurely sitting down beside the bed.

"I'm not gonna' talk about what happened."

"That's fine." Kakashi said with shut eyes as his head faced the ceiling.

"I have no idea what happened myself." the boy continued, confused about his sensei's reaction.

"You don't need to."

"Alright then." Naruto stood up again, looking around for his pajamas, only the problem was that he almost fell down in the process. He was drowsy and he felt extremely lightheaded. The retired ANBU member decided to sigh and pull the boy back onto the bed and get the cotton striped clothing for him instead.

"I'm fine! I can do it myself!" the jinchuuriki snarled.

"I know." Kakashi yawned in reply, tossing the pajamas to the teen.

Naruto caught them just in time before they hit him in the head and started changing. During the process, the older man had turned his chair toward the window and gazed outside.

"You know, this is why you should eat vegetables, too."

"That has _nothing_ to do with it." Naruto disagreed.

"It has everything to do with it. I really thought you knew this, though."

"How the heck am I supposed to know that stuff?" Naruto grumbled, irritated.

"'Cos I've taught you."

"No you haven't." Naruto's eyes were now clear with innocence. It almost seemed as if he were doubting himself and trying to remember if the man ever taught him something like that before.

"I wanna' bet I have."

Naruto merely sighed. "Please, sensei, I'm really not in the mood to-"

"Don't." Kakashi suddenly interrupted. "Don't call me sensei."

"Huh? Oh, right.. we're now the same rank and all.. forgot."

"No, not that. It's just that I'm not your sensei when the others aren't around. I'm your father by adoption, Naruto."

"Exactly, adoption." Naruto growled back. "ADOPTION." he repeated, only really putting pressure on the word now.

"Look at it the way you want, I'm your father by legal rights."

"You're not my father." Naruto sighed, leaning his back against the wall.

"I'm your guardian." Kakashi disagreed.

"Guardian." the blonde scoffed.

The older man furrowed his brows. "Is there something wrong with that, then?" he questioned.

"No, there's nothing _wrong_ with it, it's just that I don't need a guardian. Perhaps the Kyuubi does, and you all want the jinchuuriki to be watched. I understand that, but I, Uzumaki Naruto, do not need a guardian. I'm perfectly capable of-"

But before he could say any more, a kunai flung right at him and pinned his T-shirt against the wall. Then another, which pinned the other part of his T-shirt aswell, trapping him.

"And what now?" Kakashi asked him, quirking a brow.

"Now I use my chakra to find a way out." Naruto replied tonelessly.

"And what may that be, then?"

"I could use clones, I could even mold chakra into my feet and push you away with them. I may even just vanish from all sight and reappear behind you. Who knows..." *More like 'who cares?'*

Naruto's eyes were now cold and hard. Porcelain sapphire. Only lifeless sapphire. Greyish sapphire. His bright blue river orbs were now dull grey-blue. Bland and dead.

"You're strong enough to escape, then. So why don't you?"

"There's no point in fleeing. I'm right where I want to be and I've got you right where I want you, aswell."

"And what if I have a back-up?"

"I do, too. What do you think the monster in the pit of my stomach is? A cartoon? It's a dangerous ravaging monster that could kill you in less than a second. Do you honestly think I'm weaker than you are? Pathetic."

Naruto really wanted Kakashi to react angry and upset, to attack him and hurt him, to remind him of all his mistakes and put all his problems in a row for him. To distract him of all the rest happening around him and to put his mind to one thing. But the man didn't. He only confused him more. The jounin did something totally unexpected.

The guy just hugged him!

What was _that_ supposed to solve? What did that do? That shit's extremely overrated! It won't change f*ck and everyone knows it.

And just for that, Naruto grew even more frustrated. He gathered all his might and pushed to older man off of him. The silverhaired jounin flew back and crashed into the wall.

Just then, Sakura and Sai walked in, all shocked and bewildered.

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped, and they both ran over to Kakashi-sensei.

"Would you guys all just leave it be for a moment?" Naruto nearly shouted, standing up and doing something none of them would've expected. They all expected Naruto to jump out the window or leave, but instead, he walked straight over to them.

He grabbed Sakura by her shoulders, pinched them slightly, and yelled at her; "FORGET HIM!"

After this, he calmly walked over to the window, took a deep breath, and jumped through it. Everyone but Sakura was completely oblivious to the tear that rolled down Naruto's cheek before he disappeared into the night.


	7. Chapter 6 part 2

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. It's Masashi Kishimoto's. It'd be torture trying to find new ideas for Naruto :s

Prev: _**He grabbed Sakura by her shoulders, pinched them slightly, and yelled at her; "FORGET HIM!"**_

**_After this, he calmly walked over to the window, took a deep breath, and jumped through it. Everyone but Sakura was completely oblivious to the tear that rolled down Naruto's cheek before he disappeared into the night. _**

The cool mint night breeze played with Naruto's hair as he paced through it briskly. It had gotten way longer and more delicate with the years. His face had thinned down aswell, and his cheekbones were now much clearer than before. His eyes were still the same bright blue, only older and wiser. Now, ofcourse, they were dull and dead. But that was just for one reason. One reason that nobody could understand. The emptiness. The cold emptiness that told Naruto that whatever he tried, nobody would fill the gap.

And then there was the fear. The fear of the change. That nothing would ever be the same again. 'Cos, for as far as the boy knew, he'd found a nice home. A nice home with nice people and friends. But then everything had to change. And Naruto hated change. He feared change. Change meant hurt, and hurt meant blood. Blood meant the Kyuubi would go berserk, and that would mean killing. No, not just killing. It would mean that _he_ would make people _suffer_. Suffer even more than the night the Kyuubi appeared. And making people suffer meant more hate and rejection. This would mean no becoming Hokage. That would be devastating. And he couldn't take any more hate from the villagers. 'Cos if he eventually _did_ unleash all the power of the Kyuubi, he knew that even his friends and loved ones would turn against him, finally realising what a monster he was.

For the fact that even all the people that have been calling him a monster all along, torturing him for so many years, had no clue of what he was capable of. And he, himself, was certain that he had no idea what he could do either, but he knew that he had a power locked inside of him that nobody else could control. Only he, because he has grown with it, bled with it, depended on it, homed it, protected it, been protected by it, and has finally learned to love it. Like a parent loves its child. Unconditional love, they call it.

And Naruto was _fascinated_ by this love. He was truly _amazed_ at how he would always forgive the Kyuubi every time it killed and took control of his body. He was actually ishocked/i that he never really hated the Kyuubi for it. And he was isurprised/i when he noticed how he never blamed the Kyuubi for anything when the villagers sent him dirty looks or abused him.

Kyuubi healed Naruto. It constantly healed Naruto. Because Naruto needed a constant mending. A mending of his broken heart. But Kyuubi didn't mind, because Kyuubi knew it was his fault. Kyuubi knew the villagers hated Naruto because Kyuubi rented a nice big villa in the pit of Naruto's stomach and a tiny appartment in Naruto's heart. Everything in Naruto's body was cold, but Kyuubi's appartmentbuilding was strangely warm. And it got warmer and warmer the more Naruto was with his sensei, the pink-haired girl, the expressionless guy, the Uchiha guy Naruto thought of as a brother, but most of all... when Naruto was near his monster comrade. The Jinchuuriki of Suna. Yes, Naruto's heart would warm up at the sight of him. Because finally Naruto had found someone who understood.

And that's all one like Naruto could ever really desire. Somebody that truly understood. 'Cos nobody could ever understand the pain Uzumaki Naruto was in. Constantly. And so was this Sabaku no Gaara.

But no more of that. For this is not healthy for the young blonde. He hates thinking about these things. He hates thinking about change. He hates the thought as much as he hates thinking about the whole "what-if-there-isn't-anything-after-life-issue". It gets him so depressed...

And so, Naruto picked up his pace, trying to distract himself. He focused on animal cries and rustles of leaves and bushes. And also... footsteps. Rapid footsteps, coming up from behind him. A scent... Yes, he knew this man all too well.

He couldn't say it was a surprise, though. It never surprised him the way Kakashi always managed to find him. No matter where he was, the guy would always magically appear beside him. Like a magic trick. Only without the sparkle-powder. No purple balls of smoke or tracking-devices. Nope, just the guy and his good ol' nose. Perhaps a ninja hound or two..

Or perhaps it was Naruto who was being obvious, leaving clear footprints in the wet forest ground. Whatever the case, he sensed Kakashi walking up to him, aware of the fact that Kakashi knew Naruto sensed his presence.

And so he turned around to face the man.

Kakashi stared back, and neither said a word for a while.

"You're fast." Naruto commented.

"You're sloppy."

"Footprints?"

"Blood."

"Ah.. I see."

"You slit your fingers on the edge of the window."

"Figured as much."

"I think we should take you to the hospital for a check-up."

"Gee, Kakashi, they're just tiny cuts-"

"I'm not talking about the cuts."

"Hmm?" Naruto cocked his head to the side the way he always did when he was confused.

"I'm talking about the way you treated your teammate."

"Oh? Sakura?"

"That's the one."

Naruto turned a little, avoiding his gaze. "She deserved it." he muttered.

"Oh yeah? Did she now?" Kakashi quirked a brow, unbelievingly. "I thought _you_ deserved a nice shake or two."

"I didn't physically harm her." Naruto scoffed.

"Nope. You didn't. But mentally you did."

"Howso? She cryin' about good ol' Sasuke?"

"She's crying,"

Naruto scoffed again and folded his arms as he rolled his eyes as if to say, "Typical."

"But not about Sasuke." Kakashi finished his sentance.

"What then? Did I hurt her shoulders or something?" there was no sarcasm in Naruto's voice. Worry, actually, was extremely clear, though.

"No, she's crying about you. She's worried about you. You're scaring her. Damn it, Naruto, you're scaring _me_."

"Then you're all overreacting."

"_You're_ the one who's overreacting, Naruto! Don't you realise yourself how much you've changed?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't. So I would really appreciate it if you all just let me be."

"Sorry, Naruto, no can do."

"Why not?" Naruto growled.

"'Cos I care too much about you."

"Oh don't give me that loving-father crap. You and I both know it isn't your style. You don't mention things like that. You're not the kind of guy that goes around telling everyone you love them. You keep your distance and wear a mask. To you, there's no need to tell anybody you care about them. To you, they have to read you well enough to know this themselves."

Kakashi just stared at him in awe before replying casually, "Correct. Which is why I'm telling you right now that I do. Because I don't think you see it."

"Oh I see it. Don't worry." Naruto said rather bitterly.

"Does it bother you?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"... I don't believe it."

"Believe what? That I care about you?"

"I don't believe that you care about me the way you say you do. You care about me the way people worry about losing their homework, or not studying for an exam. You care about me like you care about a stray pup. I'm not one of your ninja hounds, Kakashi."

Kakashi didn't say anything. Instead, he just walked over to the boy slowly, making sure he didn't back away as he did so. When he was only a foot or two away from him, he poked his finger between Naruto's eyes, above the bridge of his nose. Naruto was confused, and Kakashi took this opportunity to pull out some ninja wire at an incredible speed, tying the boy to one of the nearby trees.

"You're not as skilled as you say you are." Kakashi remarked disapprovingly.

"What the fuck? Cut this damn wire right now you dickhead!" Naruto yelled on the mossy wet ground. The sight of it reminded Kakashi of a certain display years ago with Sasuke when he lectured the raven about a jutsu.

"And why would I do that?" a tiny smirk was hidden behind Kakashi's mask.

"'Cos I fuckin' said so, that's why!"

"Hmmm... nahh.."

"Ass. You're such a prick, you know that?"

"Well I'm glad to see you're back to your normal self again."

"Oh just shut the fuck up. Jerk."

"What's with the language, though?"

"That's the way I talk, got a problem with it?"

"Yeah, actually I do."

"Then spit it out, asshole!"

"It doesn't suit you. I didn't bring you up this way."

"Don't fuck with me. You didn't bring me up at all. I had to teach my fucking self."

"No, you didn't. Why do you keep insisting on that, anyway?"

"'Cos that's the fucking way it goes. Nothing changes and everything stays the fucking same."

"Do you dislike that, then?"

"Hell no. I fuckin' love it." Naruto had an evil-like smirk curved on his lips.

"Then why do you act like you hate it when things stay the same?"

"...'Cos change is even worse."

And that's when Kakashi saw it. The glint in Naruto's eyes. That wasn't the same honesty in his voice, that was fear. Fear of the unknown. And Kakashi knew all about Naruto's fear. He's seen alot of it, and he knows every single one of them. Which is why he decided to tie him up to the tree. He was evil for doing this to his own son, but things had to be done. He had to get the old Naruto back. And to do so, he had to make Naruto face one of his greatest fears. He had to make Naruto ask for his help. He had to make Naruto learn to love again.

And there it was. The preparation for his plan. The first drops of rain pounded gently on his jounin vest and dampened his silver hair, making it lose some of its wild volume. Only half a minute later, the soft raindrops turned into rapid balls of icecold liquid. The clouds were no longer white and the sky was no longer blue. It was a big mass of grey and black.

"Would you untie the fucking rope already?" Naruto started to get wilder by the moment, probably also aware of the fact that a storm was on its way.

"Mmm... No." Kakashi sat down with a content sigh and leaned his back against a tree opposing Naruto.

"Fucking bastard." Naruto growled as he tried to untie it himself, moving around rapidly and fumbling with the wire was strong and had his hands jammed against the muggy treebark firmly.

The rain had started to pound down on their bodies faster, harder, bigger, and colder. The wind had picked up aswell and raged through the trees, making a mess of their wet hair. And there it was. Kakashi had been waiting for it, and Naruto had been wishing it'd never come.

A loud rumble in the sky made Naruto's eyes spread open wide and had him moving his hands rambunctiously, trying fractionatly to untie the ninwire. Kakashi merely watched the blonde's pathetic attempts, both aware of the fact that he'd fail. And yet, he didn't do anything.

"UNTIE ME!" Naruto demanded with a scary edge to his voice. His tone was angry, even furious, and his eyes finally held some sort of true emotion. It lingered in his reddish eyes for a moment, stating that the teen was now past furious and was ready to get outraged.

"Woah, calm down. You aren't scared of a little bit of water, are you?" Kakashi quirked a brow, feeling guilty instantly. He knew it was wrong to pester the boy about it, and understood that lightningstorms was something many people were afraid of. He just wanted Naruto to admit it himself, to admit that this was something _he_ specifically was afraid of, and not Sasuke. Sasuke wasn't in the least frightened of lightning, he controlled it. But Naruto, on the other hand, had an incredible fear of lightningstorms. Most likely because the night of the birth of the Kyuubi inside of him and the death of his parents had been one of the only nights there were lightningstorms in Konoha.

Naruto's body twisted and turned in all directions, trying to find possibilities to cut the wire. If he could move that way, he might be able to reach his kunai. If he turned this way, he might be able to free himself, too. So many possibilities, but none eligible to him or the position he was in.

And he couldn't manage to untie himself before his true fear flashed in the corner of his eye, several kilometers away, followed by a loud rumble up above him.

He shut his eyes to hide the fear from his sensei as his body started to shake. It jerked into random positions, pulling on the wire as hard as it could. But it was no use.

"Let me go!" he pleaded, an unintional begging tone added to his plea.

"You scared o' lightning, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, mentally breaking himself down. He wanted Naruto to shout something in reply like, "Of course I am! You know I am!" but instead, the blonde merely looked the other way as the rain poured down on them.

The Genin bit his bottom lip, trying to calm himself down as he waited for another burst of lightning. He didn't want to see it, so he shut his eyes, impatient, scared, and hurt. Hurt for being 'teased' by Kakashi in this way. Hurt for not being able to face his fears. But most of all, hurt for being proved that he was, indeed, different than Sasuke. And he couldn't pull it off being his raven rival and friend.

When Naruto couldn't hear any lightning, he slowly opened one eye, then another. When both stressed eyes were just open, his heart double-pounded as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. He tried to count the seconds, but his sanity started to slip and he was overwhelmed by fear. He winced when another loud crack of lightning illuminated the dark sky.

"Let me go," he whined, turning more fearful by the second.

"What?" Kakashi asked, though Naruto knew the man had heard him and clearly understood him.

"Let me go..please.."

Kakashi walked over to him and perched down infront of him. "So you admit you're scared of lightning?"

Naruto's gaze dropped to the drenched forest ground as if he were denying this. He, too, knew that once he actually said it, he'd be admitting that he and Sasuke were different, that he was Uzumaki Naruto again, and things would go back to how they were. Wow, anticlimactic how he really wished he could change right now. After all the hate and resent he felt toward change, he wanted it desperately now.

Another crack of lightning and some more loud rumbling had Naruto back to his state of shock. His pupils started to tremble hyperactively within the riverblue pools surrounding them, which had finally returned to being riverblue.

"UNTIE ME THIS FUCKING INSTANT YOU SICK FAGGOT!" he yelled through the pounding rain.

Kakashi didn't deny that it was a sick idea of his, but it did work. He even almost smiled when he saw the bright blue take over the grey in Naruto's fear-stricken eyes. He felt bad for making him so scared, but he was overwhelmed with joy when he realised the Genin was going to be back to normal first thing in the morning. That is, if he got him to admit his fears.

Not that he hadn't already made the blonde admit to them years ago. He remembered that night as clearly as he remembered becoming a jounin.

_Team 7 had just finished their mission when raindrops started to leak from the grey clouds. Sakura complained that her hair was getting wet and started bothering Sasuke, asking him how the spikes in his hair stayed so straight. Then she started giving the team a whole documentary about how her hair would become fuzzy and poofy and she wouldn't be able to straighten it well and it would affect her personality and the way she talked. Kakashi had always known there was something holy about girls' hair._

_But even if Sakura's story was uninteresting to the three male members, the usually bright Naruto would've listened. But that's just it, the usually bright Naruto wasn't usually bright anymore. Was it the rain? Maybe he was just happier when the sun shined, who knows?_

_"Guys, let's hurry up." said child suggested, picking up his pace even more, making it hard for his teammates to follow._

_"Slow down, Naruto, the mission's over. We just have to get to the Hokage and then we get to go home. Right, sensei?" his pink-haired friend asked Kakashi._

_"That's right. But if you want, I can go deliver the report myself so you guys can get home before you catch a cold."_

_"Alright," Sakura smiled kindly at her teacher, "that'd be really nice, I've heard it's going to storm tonight. Lightning and all."_

_All but Kakashi appeared oblivious to the shudder going over the spine of the blonde Genin up front._

_"Alright, see ya' guys." and with that, he poofed away..._

_~A while later~_

_He reappeared infront of his house. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find all the lights out. Had one of the lightningstrikes broken the cables or something? That'd suck... But when he clicked the light on, it worked fine. Maybe Naruto just didn't feel like turning the light on, no big deal. Speaking of which, where was the blonde kid?_

_A flash of lightning illuminated the room for a moment, making it completely white. He heard a quiet yelp from upstairs. It would've been inaudible if it weren't for the older man's trained ears. And so he made his way up the stairs and knocked on Naruto's door twice before opening it, not bothering to wait for an answer._

_At first he couldn't see him, but then he noticed the small foot sticking out from under the bed. He ducked down and turned his head so he could see the frightened 12-year-old cover his ears and press his eyes shut, trying to block out the dangerous electricity._

_He didn't really quite know what to do, never being in that kind of state, so he just did what his instincts told him to and pulled the boy out from under the bed. Naruto's body twitched for a second, not aware that there was anybody there yet, but when he peeked open his eyes to see who it was and saw black jounin fabric on a gloved arm, he knew it was his sensei. The man placed him on the bed, where the boy tightened his fingers on the bedsheets and crumpled them up._

_"I'm not afraid." he said with a shaky voice, the fear obvious in his eyes._

_"I know." Kakashi said, kneeling down on the creaky wooden floor so his eyes were on the same level with Naruto's. He sat there infront of the boy, slightly nervous since he had no idea what to do. But when he saw Naruto's fingers twirling faster and faster around his sheets, he knew how to soothe him. He took Naruto's wrist and put the boy's hand on his fingertips. The blonde absently started curling Kakashi's fingers, almost unaware of it himself. Just like on the day they met for the first time.. Only Naruto was too young then to remember that._

_Another strike of lightning and Naruto nearly jumped up on the bed. He would've if it weren't for his stubborn mind telling him not to show the older man any fear on his behalf. He had to show his sensei how strong he was and that he could handle it. He was Uzumaki Naruto! He wasn't afraid of anything!_

_Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled oncemore, and Naruto couldn't help but softly yelp, taken by surprise. His eyes widened in his wave of anger directed toward himself when he realised that he was squeezing Kakashi's fingers. He quickly pulled back his hand and used it to cover his mouth. He shifted uneasily, straightening his back to show that he wasn't afraid. But he wasn't fooling anyone. Kakashi could see right through him and his little act._

_Which is why the jounin couldn't help but smile softly behind his mask when an extremely loud rumble of thunder echoed through the room and the blonde hid himself underneath his blankets. Half a minute later, though, he uncovered his head, saw the small glint of amusement in his sensei's eyes and threw the blanket off of himself instantly._

_"I'm not afraid!" he repeated. He helplessly searched for determination in his voice, but Naruto, too, realised now how scared his voice sounded. He tried clearing his throat but the lump of guilt telling him he was a coward was in the way._

_"I know you're not afraid," Kakashi replied soothingly as he picked the blanket up off the floor. The room was cold, so it was a good excuse to wrap the boy in the soft, warm fabric. When his student - /son – was covered and wrapped in the light-brown checked quilt and couldn't really move anymore since it was wrapped around him so tightly, he sat down on the bed beside him, putting an arm around the blonde. And even through the thick blanket, he could feel the kid shiver in utter horror._

_"You don't need to help me. I'm not scared of anything." Naruto insisted, managing to loosen the blanket a bit and get his arms out so he could remove Kakashi's arm. His fear-stricken eyes tried their best to look determined as he looked his sensei in the eye. His hands rested firmly on his knees, cold and wet from the rain he had to forge a way through to get home._

_But the jounin wasn't fooled. Especially when a loud crack of lightning had him shaking oncemore, tightening his grip on his knees and shutting his eyes. He could tell that the Genin was having quite a struggle with himself to try and keep himself from shouting his fear and hiding under the bed again._

_"Wakatteru," Kakashi softly repeated, for once in his life not minding having to repeat himself. He watched as his student grit his teeth and straightened his back again, trying his hardest to have a strong and respectful posture. But it weakened and bent again once the thunder followed after the lightning. Naruto still had his eyes pinched tightly shut, not daring to see what he was so afraid of._

_"C'mere." the silver-haired man instructed, pulling the boy closer as he leaned back against the wall. The blonde sat beside him, also leaning his back against the cold stone. The blanket was draped over his legs, hiding his shaking hands which were still grabbing hold of his knees._

_Kakashi turned so he could look at him, and tried to think of something that might be able to get Naruto's mind off of the storm raging outside. Or perhaps just make him feel better. Anything._

_"You know, thunder can tell you how far away the lightning is. The longer it takes for the thunder to come after seeing the flash, the farther away the lightning is. Per three seconds there's like a whole kilometer."_

_Naruto's eyes had opened slowly, but his shivering hadn't stopped yet._

_"You don't need to tell me this, sensei, I'm not afr- _**_eek_**_ !" Naruto's unconvincing words had been interrupted by another flash of lightning. The hard pounding of the rain on the window wasn't making it any better either as it froze the room to bits._

_Naruto hid his eyes as tears spilled from them. He was ashamed and embarassed. How could he call himself a ninja if he was afraid of some lightning and a little bit of thunder? How could he prove to the world that he was worthy of being the Hokage if he couldn't even get through a little storm? And to think that his sensei was here to see him tremble in fear.. unforgivable._

_Kakashi pulled Naruto's hands off of his eyes and put them on his own instead. Naruto started fumbling with Kakashi's fingers again unawarily, as though it was an automatism. Kakashi turned the boy away from the window with his free hand and gently draped the blanket back over him._

_Whenever a lightning strike illuminated the room and Naruto tried to turn around and see, the older man merely turned him around again, not allowing him to see what he was so afraid of. And whenever a soft whimper escaped his lips at the sound of the rumbling of the thunder, he'd hush him and cover his ears. Whenever he'd shut his eyes and shiver, Kakashi would push back a streak of his blond hair and whisper things like, "I know you aren't afraid. You aren't scared of anything."_

_He'd gently stroke his cheek and wipe away the tears that would find a way out of his scared blue orbs._

_And when the storm was nearly over and the rain gently pounded against the window, Naruto's breathing started to slow and he fell asleep. But even when the boy was sleeping, Kakashi didn't leave him. Not only 'cos he'd have to repeat the whole process if Naruto were to wake up and the storm would return, but because he knew he had to be there for him. Like a father should be._

"UNTIE ME, DICKHEAD! BEFORE I MAKE A FUCKING CORPSE OF YOU!" Naruto yelled furiously, shaking Kakashi out of his thoughts.

"You can't move, how are you supposed to make a corpse of me?" Kakashi quirked his visible brow, then rested his chin on his hand as if he were bored.

"You're a bastard, you know that? A sick jerk who thinks it's fun to make fun of others. Well I'm gonna' tell you this, fucker, I ain't afraid o' nothin!"

The jounin, who was perched down a couple of feet away from the blonde, removed his hand and looked Naruto in the eye seriously. "I know. I know you aren't afraid."

Naruto's eyes shot open wide as he remembered that night. The night Kakashi had fought him through his fears. He'd helped him. The only person that actually would... The only person that cared. After all the resentment he'd get from the villagers, he knew he could always come home to somebody who didn't hate him. So why was he acting like such a prat to him? Why was he being so evil? A spoiled brat, that's what he was.

"You.. I..." but Naruto was at a loss for words.

"I didn't... I wasn't... I... I'm.."

His eyes shot from left to right as he searched for the right words. He avoided his sensei's gaze, ashamed of himself for being so insufferable.

"I'm.. I'm sorry."

Slowly but surely, he looked Kakashi in the eye, to find it understanding and forgiving. Not at all angry. And he was thankful for that.

Kakashi cut the wire, but the blond teen didn't move.

"I was... I acted like such a-"

"Naruto." Kakashi's voice caught his attention. The silver-haired man placed a hand on Naruto's head and looked him in the eye deeply. "It's alright. I understand. Now let's go see Sakura, okay?"

It took a while for Naruto to smile and reply. "Hai!"


End file.
